New Life In Naruto!
by Unknown entity328
Summary: Of all ways to die, why did it have to be by an ambulance! At least I get a new chance at life. And of all places it's where death is always right around the corner. Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine sadly. Naruhina, OCx?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my dear readers, this is Unknown entity328 with a new fanfic! I deeply apologize for my long absence, but I was busy studying to write. But I haven't given up on my fanfics and I'll find time to take a little break or two from my studying to write my fanfics and come up with chapter ideas to the best of my abilities with the limited time I give myself. I think I kept you all waiting lking enough, read and enjoy! XD**

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Chapter One: Oh, The Irony

The sound of a bell ringing rang out a three story school as student's started walking out heading home. Among the students, a teenage boy with short, messy brown hair and eyes wearing a black short-sleeve T-shirt with a white tiger design, A black and blue backpack slung over his shoulders, blue jeans, and white sneakers walked expertly through the crowd of students while having his nose in a manga. The manga he was reading was the fourth volume of Naruto.

"This is the fourth time I read this today." the teen muttered to himself as he quickly sidestepped a female student that suddenly stopped before continuing to walk. "No matter how many times I read the manga or watch the anime I can't get over this."

"Kyle!" The said teen looked behind him to see a boy the same age as him with short auburn hair and brown eyes wearing a green short-sleeve shirt, a brown messenger bag slung over his right shoulder, black jeans, and red sneakers with a black jacket wrapped around his waist running towards him. "Wait up!"

"Jason, what's up?" The now named Kyle greeted when the other teen was in front of him.

"You wanna hang out?" Jason asked. "I heard there's this new arcade that's suppose to have the latest fighting games."

"Sure, I have nothing else to do right now." Kyle nodded as the two started walking and he continued to read his manga.

"Are you reading that manga again?" Jason asked seeing the title of the manga. "You've read it what four times already? Don't you get tired of reading it over and over again?"

"Not really." Kyle shrugged as they walked past a playground and he sidestepped a boy playing with a ball still reading his manga. "I just love the characters and the plot."

"Weren't you complaining about wanting one character to die sooner?" Jason raised an eyebrow watching how Kyle easily sidestepping people in front of him as he read. "And how are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Kyle asked looking at Jason with a confused look on his face.

"Sidestepping to dodge people without even looking." Jason clarified. "You do it as easy as breathing and have been doing it since we left school." Kyle still gave him a confused look as he sidestepped a woman running towards them. Jason pointed to Kyle. "Right there! You did it just now!"

"Oh." Kyle looked at his feet before looking back to Jason and shrugged. "I guess it was reflex."

"Reflex." Jason repeated giving Kyle a half-lidded stare as they stopped at a crosswalk when the light was red. "What are you, a martial arts master?"

Kyle just shrugged as they waited for the crosswalk light to turn green. When the light turned green and the cars stopped, everyone on both sides started walking across with Kyle again reading his manga sidestepping people in front of him. When it was just him and Jason that was still crossing as they talked, Kyle heard what sounded like a siren and turned his head to the right to see an ambulance speeding towards them. He looked at the driver's seat to see the driver was panicking as he tried to regain control and stop but it was too late. Without thinking, Kyle pushed Jason causing his head to hit the pavement in front of him.

"Ow!" Jason shouted pushing himself to a sitting position holding his slightly bleeding forehead hissing in pain his eyes shut tightly. "Hey man, what was that for?" it was then he heard the sound of impact and opened his eyes to see Kyle being sent flying rolling on the ground before stopping covered in his own blood. Jason's eyes widened and quickly got to his feet running to Kyle. "Kyle!"

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'It hurts.' Kyle thought not able to use his voice, the edge of his vision turning black and red as a bunch of people in white uniforms stood over him shouting frantically but he couldn't hear them as his ears were ringing. 'Everything hurts, I feel so cold, I can't hear anything.' He tried to speak but ended up coughing up blood. He tried to move his arms but couldn't move them and felt pain when he did. 'I can't move. Is Jason okay?' Jason stood over him with only a scratch on his forehead and a worried look on his face. Kyle managed a relieved smile as Jason started shouting at him. 'Oh good, he only has a scratch but he'll live.' He coughed up more blood causing the people over him to panic. His eyelids started to feel heavy and he struggled to keep them open to no avail. 'I guess this is how I die. At least it was from saving someone.' He finally let his eyes close as he watched the people over him frantically shout at him. 'Probably telling me to hang in there. I'm sorry, but I can't last anymore.' His eyes finally close as his consciousness faded no longer able to feel anything.

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Kyle P.O.V.

I feel so warm, but why? I thought I died. I could see a light from under my eyelids but I don't want to open them. I don't know why, but I feel safe being wrapped in this warmth. In the end, I couldn't keep my eyes shut and slowly open them only to whimper when the light directly hit my eyes. 'Wait, whimper?! I never whimper.' I lifted an arm to rub my eyes but paused at the hand I was staring at. My fingers are stubby and my arm seems a little chubby, kinda like a baby's arm.

"Oh, he woke up." A feminine voice said in a happy tone. I turned my head to the source of the voice to see a woman with long silky smooth auburn hair and beautiful lime green eyes wearing a sky blue kimono smiling down at me. "Did you sleep well Kojiro?"

'Who's Kojiro?' I thought in confusion as I stared at the woman. I tried to tell the lady that she got the wrong guy, but all that came out of my mouth was babbling gibberish. 'What the hell, what happened to my voice?!' I tried to move, but I felt some type of cloth wrapped around me I looked down to my own body to see I was in the woman's arms wrapped in a blue cloth. It wasn't until I felt the cloth rub against my skin that I realized I was naked under it and blushed in embarrassment.

"He's a curious one isn't he Akane?" I turned to the voice to see a man with blue hair with his bangs to the sides framing his face and brown eyes wearing a red kimono smiling at me. "Hey there little Kojiro."

'Again, who's Kojiro?!' I frantically thought. 'My name's Kyle Samson you idiots! Get that through your thick skulls!' I tried to wiggle my way out of the woman's arms but she just repositioned them so I wouldn't fall. It was then I caught sight of a mirror and saw my reflection. I couldn't believe what I saw, the pair of eyes that stared back at me wasn't my own brown eyes but lime green and I saw I had a tuft of blue hair, but it wasn't the eyes or hair that shocked me, it was the face of a baby wrapped in blue cloth staring back at me that shocked me. 'Is that me?!'

"I think Kojiro's interested in his reflection Kosuke." Akane I think was the woman's name said giggling in amusement at what I was doing.

'Wait, is the Kojiro their talking about me?' I looked back to the two people to see they were smiling down at me. 'Did I get reincarnated or something? If that's the case, does that make these two my parents?' It was then that I had a thought. 'Hold on, if I did get reincarnated then that makes me a baby right now. And if I'm a baby…' My eyes wandered to where my lower regions that was being covered by the blue cloth and they widened. 'That means I have to relive having a diaper on! Only this time I'll have memories of it happening!'

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Three Months Later

It's been three month since I was reincarnated, and let's just say that life as a baby was boring and something that you don't want to relive. I did nothing but lay around, get breastfed, get my diaper changed, and have two new loving parents smile over me. Okay, the last part I don't mind, it's the diaper changing that I want to get over with as soon as possible. Feeling your own crap when you go is not pleasant to say the least. Despite that, I can see that Akane and Kosuke are caring parents. From their clothes and my new name, I'm guessing I'm somewhere in Japan.

It took three months, but I finally managed to at least crawl. My parents were surprised by how fast I learned crawl when it normally took a normal baby longer, but I want to stand on two feet again as quickly as possible.

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Five Months Later

Five months living my new life and I'm starting to get restless to do the stuff I use to do in my past life. My father always seem to be out all the time. Doing what, I don't know. In fact, he's leaving today too. I was in my mother's arms so I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation this time.

"Do you have to go?" Akane asked with a worried look on her face being careful to support my head. "There are others that can do just as good a job as you."

"I have to." Kosuke said planting a kiss on Akane's cheek and ruffling the tuft of my hair smiling. "I have to make sure that the village is safe for both you and little Kojiro here so he can grow up to be a happy child."

"Just be safe out there." Akane said tightening her grip on me a little and I looked up to see that her eyes were watering a little. "I know how dangerous the battlefield can be when in enemy territory."

'Battlefield?' I thought in confusion as I listened to their conversation carefully. 'Did I get reincarnated during a war?'

"I'll be back." Kosuke promised wrapping his arms around Akane and me pulling us in a tight embrace. I struggle a little to get comfortable, but as I listened to their steady heartbeats I couldn't help but feel calm and a little drowsy as my eyelids started to feel heavy as I fight to stay awake as an inaudible yawn came out of my mouth. Kosuke saw this and whispered in Akane's ear. "I think someone's ready for a nap."

Akane looked down to me and nodded in agreement. After Kosuke walked out the door and closed it, Akane started walking to my room where my crib was as she slowly rocked me back and forth humming a soft tune smiling down at me as I listened to her soft and beautiful voice and the steady beating of her heart. My eyes felt heavy as I left out a yawn before they finally closed and fell asleep as Akane gently lowered me into my crib tucking me under a blue blanket and watched me sleep, the smile not leaving her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my fellow readers, this is Unknown entity328 with chapter of New Life in Naruto! I hope that you enjoy reading this chapter as I enjoy a nice cup of tea while I patiently wait for you in the outro. Begin the chapter!**

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Chapter Two: Revelation

Two Years Later

It's been two years since I've been reincarnated and I must say it feels good to be walking again, stupid developing muscles. Even though I can walk and can almost talk in full sentences again, I still don't know where I am. Every time I get close to the door to see what's outside, my mother Akane always seems to know what I'm up to and carries me back into the living room.

"Really Kojiro." Akane said exasperatedly smiling in amusement as she held me. "I know you want to go outside, but not until daddy comes home."

"When daddy come home?" I asked inwardly cringing at the sentence that came out of my mouth. I meant to say 'When is daddy coming home?' but it came out as that, god I hope I can speak normally soon.

"Daddy won't be back for a few more days Kojiro." Akane replied playfully tapping me in the nose which I let out an unintentional giggle when a tickling sensation ran through my system. After we were back in the living room, Akane placed me down in the middle of wooden blocks that were scattered around a rug. "Why don't you go play while I make us lunch?"

I nodded as she entered the kitchen which was across from the living room. I sat on the rug and looked out the window to see a couple of birds flying by chirping, I can also see a few trees branches filled with green leaves. If there was one thing I learned of where I am, it's that I'm definitely in Japan, probably somewhere around the edo period because I haven't heard a single car from the time I was born. I started to play with the blocks to keep myself busy while I think not paying attention to what I was doing.

"Kojiro, lunch is ready." Akane said coming out of the kitchen wiping her hands with a small towel which she dropped from her shock at seeing what I made with the blocks. I looked to Akane in confusion before I look to see what I made with the blocks. I made a turtle with three tails next to a nine tailed fox.

' _I made Isobu and Kurama? I must have been deep in thought if I did that._ ' I thought as poked the block structures causing them to crumple which seem to snap Akane out of her shock. I looked over to her with a confused look on my face. ' _But why did seeing my structures surprise her so much?_ ' I walked, more like waddled, my way to her and tugged on her kimono a little causing her to look down to me to see my concerned look. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

She shook her head kneeling down to place her hands on my shoulders smiling at me. "Mommy's fine dear, you just surprised me that you can make such interesting animals with your blocks." I tilted my head in confusion as she picked me up. "Now about that lunch, we wouldn't want it to get cold now do we?"

* * *

' _I am so booored!'_ I mentally shouted as I stared out my room's window before looking around. Inside was a single drawer with plush toys on top with a single picture of Akane and Kojiro behind me as I stared curiously at a cake with a single candle in the middle. The picture was taken during my first birthday and it was kinda funny watching my parents scattering around the house like headless chickens trying to put up streamers and blowing up balloons. Anyways, there was also a blue circular rug in the center of the room next to a crib that was on the right side of the room next to the window I was staring out of, blocks and other toys scattered around the rug. ' _Reincarnation sucks, and everyone who would disagree with me should just screw themselves._ ' The only thing I know about outside is that I live in a two story house surrounded by other houses and businesses.

"Kojiro." Akane called opening the door with a bamboo basket in her hands. "I'm going to the woods to collect some herbs, do you want to come with me, or do you want Mrs. Shinomiya to watch you?"

' _Finally!_ ' I mentally shouted a big smile on my face. ' _A chance to go outside to see where I am!_ ' I ran over to my mother and nodded gripping the bottom of her kimono so I don't lose my balance and fall. "I want to come!"

Akane looked down to me smiling before adjusting the basket against her hip and reaching a hand out to me. "Then let's go, I bet you'll really have fun out there." I took her hand we both walked out of the house. We walked through the small village that we live in with many of the villagers greeting my mother as we walked by and a few of the elderly women knelt down to me saying how cute I was and lightly pinching my cheeks.

' _Oh how I wish I can tell them that I'm not cute_.' I thought in embarrassment as another woman pinched my chubby cheeks. ' _But ever since I looked at my reflection yesterday, I can't disagree with their statements.'_ I looked to my right to look at a window to see my reflection again. looking back to me was a toddler with short spiky blue hair and lime green eyes with chubby cheeks wearing a blue kimono with light blue along the bottom resembling waves and straw sandals. ' _I hope I don't end up looking like a girl when I get older._ '

"Akane, has Kosuke come back yet?" The woman who was pinching my cheeks asked my mother resting a hand on her cheek as a look of worry made it's way across her face. "I hope he and my brother come home safe."

"No he won't be back for a few more days." Akane replied as she used her free hand to pick me up and held me to her side as I held on to kimono and my legs around her waist so I wouldn't fall. "I worry about him of course, but I know he's doing this for our village so the children can live without worry." She looked to me and smiled before turning back to the woman she was talking to. "All I can do is have faith that he'll return to me and Kojiro in one piece." She politely bowed. "Well, we should be going now."

"Going to collect more herbs again?" The woman asked noticing the bamboo basket she was holding in her other hand. "I hope you find everything you need. It's getting hard to aquire the herbs you use Akane."

"I know." Akane nodded in agreement. "I'm sure I'll find plenty of lemon balm, though I'm concerned that I won't find that many lavender since the soil in this land might be too moist for them with all the mist."

' _Come to think of it._ ' I thought as the two women said their good-byes and I got pinched on the cheek again. ' _There's mist here year 'round, I wonder why._ ' We walked through a tunnel that lead to a forest.

"Okay Kojiro." Akane said getting my attention as she knelt down so she at eye level with me and pulled out a lavender flower. "We're going to try and find some of these but be sure to stay where I can see you alright?"

"Okay mommy!" I replied childishly with a big smile on my face while I was inwardly cringing. ' _I'm only talking like this because of my limited vocabulary and that it would be weird for a toddler to sound so mature._ ' I repeated that thought in my head like a mantra as I waddled to the nearest patch of green and started to look for lavender.

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' _How hard can it be to find a single plant?!'_ I mentally shouted, my eyebrow twitching as I finished checking another patch of greenery. ' _I swear, all this mist makes it hard for lavender to grow in this environment._ ' I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration as I got to my feet and started to look somewhere else walking along the edge of a stream getting lost in my thoughts. ' _I finally get out of the house and I still don't know where I am. I know where I am is not as technologically advanced as my past life._ ' I sighed before I tripped on an exposed tree root making me lose my balance and fall in the stream letting out a startled yell which was silence by a big splash.

"Kojiro!" Akane called out when she heard the splash and ran over to the stream with a worried look on her face to see me sitting in the shallow part of the stream soaking wet. She put her basket filled with herbs down and knelt down to pick me up and carried me to shore. When she set me down, she placed her hands on my shoulders frantically gave me a once over. "Are you alright, you aren't hurt are you?" I winced when I applied pressure to my left foot which she noticed and look to my foot to see it was a little red and swollen and gasped. "You sprained your ankle!" She had me sit down being careful of my ankle.

"Mommy?" I looked up to her in confusion and looked around to see she didn't had her basket of herbs near her.

"Shh, it's alright Kojiro." Akane said giving me a gentle smile. "Mommy will make it all better." She held her hand over my injured ankle for a moment. I was confused as to why she was doing that and was going to ask until I saw her hand started to be covered in a green aura. My eyes widened when the aura started to cover my ankle. I felt a tingle go up my spine at the warm and gentle feeling I was getting from the aura as the pain from my ankle slowly faded away. The aura faded and Akane removed her hand giving me a smile. "There, all better now." I couldn't say anything as I was too shocked at what I just saw. My hand went to my ankle and I felt no pain when I lightly poked it with a finger. I looked up to my mother as she reached and picked me up and she giggled at my surprised face. "Did I surprise you Kojiro?"

"Uh-huh." Was my only response along with a nodded as I looked back to my ankle. ' _How did she do that? What was that green aura around her hand? Was that magic or something?'_ I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Akane walking over to pick up her basket and walked back to the village. It was quiet as I continued to get lost in my thoughts and Akane humming before I finally broke the silence. "Mommy?" She looked to me giving a hum as a response and I tried my best not to outwardly cringe for what's about to come out of my mouth. "How you make owie go away?"

Akane just giggled and gave me a playful wink. "Now that's a secret." I pouted puffing my cheeks at that response which made her giggle some more. "I'll tell you when you're older, okay?" Knowing I wasn't going to get anything out of her I just continued to pout and nodded my head as I let her carry me. She just smiled as I clung onto her to feel her warmth when a shiver reminded me that I fell in a stream. "You're so cute Kojiro, I bet you'll be as handsome as your father and all the girls will be after you when you get older."

' _I hope not._ ' I thought shuddering as an image of me being surrounded by girls popped into my head. ' _I don't want a fan club like a certain Uchiha._ '

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A month has passed since the incident at the stream happened, and now every time Akane takes me out to gather herbs with her she always makes sure that I'm at least a meter away from her so a repeat doesn't happen. Two days after my father Kosuke came home covered in what I think was dirt and scratches. I noticed that he was wearing a black skin tight shirt and grey pants. I saw a piece of cloth hanging out of his pocket and when I tried to reach for it he just laughed and picked me up saying I shouldn't do things like that. For the rest of the month I spent it at home where I practiced reading which was hard since I didn't know how to properly translate kanji and ended up confuse when I tried reading some of my picture books out loud.

' _I knew I should have bought a book to learn japanese in my past life.'_ I mentally berated myself as I walked around in my house as I heard my mother Akane cooking and my father Kosuke sleeping on the couch snoring loudly. When he came home earlier today, like always he looked like he was totally exhausted and that he just left a war zone. I always see him wearing some kind of head band whenever he leaves the house in what I think was suppose to be combat clothes, but I couldn't see what was on it because I was usually in another room. ' _Now that I think about it..._ ' I stopped walking as I was about to pass the living room to see Kosuke in his everyday kimono sleeping soundly on the couch wearing the head band over his eyes like an eye mask. ' _I feel like I've seen that head band before._ ' Curiosity getting the better of me, I slowly and quietly tip toed to my father not making any sounds. When I was in front of the couch, I got on slowly being careful not to stir him as I sat on his chest that rose and fell. My eyes widened in shock when I saw the four wavy engravings on the metal of the head band. ' _But that's..._ '

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 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter readers. Now onto the reviews!**

 **Kitkedd: I'm glad you liked it. Your question shall be answered in future chapters so I hope you continue reading to find the answer.**

 **SilverDragon1218: Hope you enjoyed reading this and thank you for hoping more people finds this fanfic. I won't give out spoilers as to if he'll save anyone, but I will tell you the he won't be super OP right off the bat but he will be gradually get stronger.**

 **That's it for the reviews, time for me to be off and brainstorm on how the next chapter should be written. If you liked it, please leave a review to let me know and I'll see you all next time! XD**


	3. Please Read!

Sorry readers, this isn't an update. I was revising the plot while watching Naruto when a friend recommended making Kojiro the jinchuriki of Isobu. I didn't know whether to go with the idea or not so I'm leaving it up to you my readers. I have a poll up to decide and will end at the 8th of May. I will only count the votes from the poll when I make my decision so please don't leave your votes in the reviews unless your a guest and don't have an account on this site. Until the poll is over, I'm afraid New Life in Naruto! will not be having any new chapters. Keep in mind that this is only until the polls end and even though there won't be any new chapters until then doesn't mean I won't write them. I will continue to write chapter three while I patiently await the results. So that's all I want to say for now, I hope you decide to vote and remember that criticism is welcome because I want to make my fanfics the best they can possibly be. Until we meet again my readers!


	4. Chapter 3

**Greetings and salutations my reader's, it's Unknown entity328 with a new chapter! Before we get to the chapter, I just wanted to say that the poll has reached it's end and I now have the results and I thank you for putting in your votes. Now that we have that out of the way, it's time to initiate the chapter and I will tell you the results of the poll in the outro!**

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Chapter Three: Best Gift Given

I couldn't believe what I was looking at. over my father's eyes was a ninja head band for the mist village. I was so shocked that I didn't notice a pair of hands going under my arms and lifted me up. I looked behind me to see my mother Akane holding me with a smile on her face.

"Kojiro, you shouldn't sit on top of daddy like that." Akane said softly as to not wake my sleeping father and she set me down so I was on the floor standing on my feet before kneeling down to look me in the eye. "Daddy's very tired and needs his rest so he can't play with you right now, okay?"

"Mommy, what that?" I asked curiously pointing at the head band over my father's eyes.

Akane looked to where I was pointing and a look of understanding dawned on her as she smiled down to me. "That's a ninja head band Kojiro."

"Nin-ja?" I sounded out acting the curious toddler I'm suppose to be.

She nodded as she reached into the folds of her kimono and pulled out an identical head band to show me. "That's right, both mommy and daddy are ninja, we can many things other people can't."

"Like when mommy made owie go away?" I asked with childish excitement when I thought back to when we went looking for herbs and I hurt myself. ' _So that was what that aura was, it was chakra._ '

Akane laughed softly when she heard the excitement in my voice and nodded. "That's right, I'm a medical ninja, that means I can make others owies go away." She lightly tapped my nose. "But let's wait until your older before I tell you everything about ninja."

"Awww, why?" I complained pouting which probably made me look cute instead of annoyed if my mother's giggling was any indication.

"I'm sorry Kojiro." She apologized patting my head giving me an apologetic smile. "You're not old enough to know about ninja yet, but I promise when you're older I'll tell you, okay?" I continued to pout but nodded my head anyway even though I already knew what ninja are which made her giggle again as she lightly pinched my cheek. "You're so cute Kojiro."

' _Please stop calling me cute._ ' I inwardly groaned as she let go of my cheek and went back into the kitchen where she came from earlier. ' _What's with women and pinching toddlers cheeks? I hope all this baby fat will be gone when I get older._ ' I looked to my hands and had a thought. ' _Wait, if both my parents are ninjas, does that mean I can use chakra too?_ ' I tried concentrating on my hands to see what would happen but nothing happened. ' _Guess I'm too young to use chakra right now, that and I don't even know how to manipulate_ _chakra._ ' I sighed and let my arms fall to my sides. ' _All_ _I know about chakra is that it's a mixture of physical energy and spiritual energy._ ' I stilled as I processed what I just thought and wanted to face palm when I realized what was so obvious. ' _I'm so stupid! Of course it didn't work earlier, I haven't trained my body for the physical energy and haven't meditated for the spiritual energy parts of what makes chakra work!_ '

I heard my father Kosuke groan in his sleep and I turned to see his hand reaching for the head band and pushed it up to his forehead as his eyes slowly opened before sitting up and letting his feet touch the floor letting out a loud yawn as he arched his back in a stretch and I swear I heard his spine pop a few times. "Aaah, that felt nice." He slouched forward letting his arms rest on his lap and looked to the side to see me staring at him and gave me a grin. "Hey kiddo, what are you up to?"

"Nothing daddy." I replied as I waddled my way to him and almost fell and would have hit the floor face first if my father wasn't quick to react and got off the couch and caught me. I looked up to him with wide eyes of surprise. ' _So fast, I didn't even see him move!_ '

Kosuke let out a relieved sigh smirking down to me. "Did I surprise you?" I just nodded slowly as he stood straight holding me in his arms being sure to support my back. "Sorry about that kiddo, didn't want you to hurt yourself." He then walked us to the kitchen where he kissed Akane on the cheek as she was cutting vegetables. "Morning sweetheart."

Akane just giggled, her eyes not leaving what she was doing as she replied. "I already noon, but good morning either way." She walked over to the pot and pulled off the lid and added the vegetables she just cut into the pot before she took a ladle and started stirring. "Lunch is almost ready you two."

"What are we having?" Kosuke asked trying to look over Akane's shoulder to see what she was cooking only to get a ladle to the face that was still hot from the stirring she was doing making him scream and jumping back running around the kitchen being careful not to drop me. "Hot, hot, hot!" I looked up and saw that he had a red circle mark where his nose is and I placed my hands over my mouth to stop myself from laughing when an image of a clown popped in my head.

"That's a secret~" Akane said with a teasing tone in her voice as she put the lid back on the pot and lowered the heat to let whatever's in there to simmer. She turned around to see Kosuke still running around like a headless chicken holding me who was trying to hold down a laugh. She didn't have any problems as she let out a small laugh shaking her head in amusement as she walked over and plucked me out of my father's arms and kissed him on the nose. "There, all better now?"

Kosuke wrapped his arms around us in a tight embrace. "Much." When he released us he took me from my mother's arms. "Well, I'm going to take a bath with Kojiro." He looked down to me and smiled. "I think it's time for some father-son bonding since I'm almost not around a lot, right Kojiro?" I happily nodded since it was true, he's always out of the house for a while or sleeping when he's home. "Now that that's settled, time to go for a dip!" He walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

He walked into the bathroom where he put me down and took off my clothes putting them in a hamper before doing the same with his clothes. Without his clothes on, I could see that he was quite fit with a lean build like a runner and a six-pack, I also saw a few scars on his shoulders and his left side. He probably felt I was staring because he looked down to me with a confused stare. "Something wrong Kojiro?" I just pointed at the scars and when he followed where my finger was pointing, a look of realization dawned on him as he smiled down to me. "Oh, these things? Don't worry about it Kojiro, to us men these are medals of valor." He then ruffled my hair with a grin on his face. "Daddy just fine, now let's get you cleaned up." I sat on a stool with my father sitting behind me as he soaked my hair and applied the shampoo as I shut my eyes tightly so it doesn't get in them. "Your hair is so soft Kojiro, just like your mothers."

"It is?" I asked in genuine curiosity since I never felt my own hair before.

Kosuke nodded as he filled a wash basin with water and poured it on top of me to rinse the shampoo out of my hair. He then picked up a bottle of body wash and a sponge and started scrubbing my back "That's right, and you look so cute I bet a lot of girls will be fighting over you."

' _I hope not._ ' I felt a chill go down my spine at the thought of me being trapped in a sea of girls ripping each others hair out just to be near me and shivered a little. My father probably thought I was shivering because of the cold water he poured over me and continued scrubbing. ' _Just thinking about it is terrifying, a_ _nd my own father called me cute!_ ' I turned my head back to my father putting on a curious look. "Why?"

Kosuke chuckled at my response as he poured water over my body to rinse the body wash off and started washing his own hair. "You'll understand when you get older Kojiro." He let out a small laugh as he lathered the shampoo thoroughly in his hair. "Let's just hope you won't be dense like I was when I was younger."

"Dense? You?" I asked tilting my head to the side as he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair and started to scrub his body.

"That's right." My father nodded as he scrubbed his arms and chest before doing his back. "I was so dense it took me two years to realize your mother's feelings for me." He chuckled as he rinsed the body wash off and picked me up walking to the tub already fill with water. "But that's for another time, for now let's just enjoy a nice hot bath." He stepped in slowly lowering himself in a sitting position making the water rise until it overflowed out of the tub placing me on his lap with my back against his chest. "Aaaah, nothing like a hot bath after a long nap." He looked down to me to see I was staring at him. "What's up?"

"Daddy, what's a ninja?" I asked curiously acting the ignorant toddler I'm suppose to be. ' _I already know but maybe there's more that the creators didn't add to the anime or manga._ '

Kosuke stiffen at the question giving me a surprised stare before chuckling. "I guess you saw my head band huh?" When I nodded he turned me around so I was facing him. "Sorry kiddo, but I can't say until you're older." When he saw me pouting he just laughed ruffling my hair. "I'll tell you when you're older, I promise."

I just turned around and stared at my reflection to see lime green eyes staring back at me. ' _Still hard to believe that this is me._ ' I traced a finger over my cheek as I felt the soft skin. ' _I thought Naruto was a just fiction. But here I am, reincarnated into a family that isn't suppose to exist._ ' I lowered myself deeper into the water until everything but the nose up was submerged blowing out small bubbles as I got lost in my thoughts. ' _I feel like I'm in one of those fanfictions where you die in your world only to be reincarnated into another._ '

"Something on your mind kiddo?" Kosuke asked noticing that I was quiet for a while snapping out of my thoughts.

' _Crap, what can I say that sounds childish?_ ' I mentally panicked as I tried to think of a reply when I saw my refection. ' _I got it!_ ' I looked up to my father giving him a confused look. "Daddy, why does everyone call me cute?"

Kosuke laughed at my reply turning me around to face him again. "So that's what was on your mind huh?" When I nodded my head he just grinned and ruffled my hair. "They call you cute because you are. I wouldn't be surprised if you get mistaken for a girl sometimes."

' _Me? Mistaken for a girl?'_ I thought as I looked back my reflection to only see the face of a toddler that could easily be either a boy or girl. ' _I guess I won't be able to tell until I get older. I am only two years old after all._ '

* * *

After our bath, my father helped drying me off and putting my clothes which were now a plain green short sleeve shirt and brown shorts before he put on his own clothes which was a dark green long sleeve shirt and black pants before picking me up and we left the bathroom to return to the living room to see my mother in the kitchen stirring whatever's in the pot again.

"We're back." Kosuke said getting Akane's attention from the pot.

"Just in time, I just finished." Akane said as she took the ladle out of the pot and placed it to the side as she reached into a cupboard and pulled out three bowls and three spoons and carried them to the table. "You two took a long time in the bath, I was worried that you both passed out from staying in there."

"Come on Akane, you know I'm not that careless." Kosuke said with a chuckle as Akane set the bowls in front of two chairs and a high chair. "All we did was enjoy the bath and talk." He looked down to me and had a smirk on his face before looking back to Akane. "In fact, Kojiro asked me why everyone calls him cute."

"Oh Kojiro." Akane said with a smile walking over to me and took me from my father's arms. "The reason everyone calls you cute is because you are."

"That's what daddy said!" I complained causing both my parents to laugh. ' _Whatever high being that's listening to me out there, please don't let me look like a girly boy when I grow up like Haku! I'm begging here!_ '

"Well, we better have our lunch before it gets cold." Akane said as he placed me in the high chair and went to the kitchen to get the pot she was using.

"You going to tell us what we're having Akane?" Kosuke asked taking a seat in the chair to my left resting his arms on the table before giving a playful smirk. "Not another ladle to the face I hope."

Akane gave a light laugh bringing the pot with a ladle inside to the table and placed it in the middle. "Luckily for you it isn't another ladle." She took the lid off for us to see she made a kind of stew with meat and vegetables. I could see diced carrots, onions, meat, and other ingredients on the surface.

I saw my father's eyes widen in surprise and looked to my mother. "Is this what I think it is?"

Akane nodded giving my father a soft smile and I couldn't take my eyes off her as she looked absolutely beautiful when she smiles. "Yup, it's the same stew I made when we first started dating." She pointed to the other side of the room and we looked to see she was pointing at the calendar to see that today was circled in red ink. "I hope you didn't forget that today is our anniversary."

Kosuke looked back to Akane and gave her a smile and got to his feet and walked over to her placing his lips against her in a kiss before pulling away. "I could never forget, I even had something ready for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular pink box with a blue ribbon wrapped around it. "It wasn't easy to find, but it was worth it." He held it out to Akane. "Happy anniversary, Akane."

Akane took the box and unwrapped the ribbon before lifting the lid and placing it on the table to see what was inside. When she saw what was inside she gasped with a hand over her mouth and tears in the corners of her eyes before she picked up the item inside the box for me to see it was a hair stick with a blue flower on the end. When I looked closely at the hair stick I noticed that it was quite old covered in dirt, dust, and what I think was a small speck of barely noticeable blood.

Akane had a big smile on her face as tears flowed from her eyes and gave Kosuke a hug. "Thank you, you don't know how happy this makes me." She let go of him and looked to the hair stick with a nostalgic look on her face. "This hair stick belonged to my mother when we came to the village, we were attacked and she..." She held the hair stick close to herself as the tears continued to flow down her face. "I thought I would never see this again, I looked everywhere with no lead." She looked to Kosuke wiping away her tears giving him her best smile. "This is the best gift I could ever ask for, thank you Kosuke."

' _So that was why she seemed so disappointed yesterday when we went to gather herbs._ ' I thought in realization as my eyes focused on the hair stick in my mother's arms. I remember whenever we went to gather herbs that my mother looked like she was searching or something else and always had this sad disappointed look on her face when we come home. ' _She wasn't only looking for herbs, she was also looking for that hair stick._ ' I had a small smile on my face as I watched my parents smile at each other and hugged. ' _I'm happy she has something of her mother's now._ '

My parents released the hug as Akane wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes. "We should eat now, don't want the stew to get cold."

"Good idea." Kosuke said when my stomach decided to make itself known by growing causing the two to look to me. Kosuke laughed when he heard the growl . "Looks like someone can't wait any longer."

"I'm sorry Kojiro." My mother said giving me an apologetic smile as she and my father took their seats. "I got so excited having my mother's hair stick I forgot about lunch." She took my bowl and used the ladle to pour some of the stew in it before placing it in front of me. "There you go." She did the same with both her's and my father's bowls before putting the ladle back in the pot and took a seat and clapped her hands together with me and my father doing the same before saying at the same time. "Time to eat." Then we started to eat the stew that was really delicious.

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter three readers, I hope the wait was worth it. Again I would like to thank you my readers who voted in the poll, it was thanks to those votes that I have made my decision. I hope you will look forward to the next chapter as I look forward to reading your reviews. Now onto the results of the poll. And the results are drum roll please**

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 **YES! With that decided, I will revise my plot to fit in Kojiro being the jinchuriki of Isobu. I hope to see you all again!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone, it's Unknown entity328 with a new chapter of New Life in Naruto! First off I'd like to apologize for the sudden hiatus of all my fanfics, due to unknown reasons my laptop stopped working and I have to get a new one. So until I get a new laptop, my updates will probably take a while as I'll be writing them on paper and with real life problems getting in the way every once in a while and I hope you understand. Now that that's out of the way, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Four: Calm Before the Storm

3rd P.O.V.

"Kojiro!" Akane called out pushing aside bushes in front of her so she can go through looking around. "Kojiro, where are you?!"

"I'm right here mama!" A young boy's voice called out as a small boy with spiky blue hair that reaches his shoulders and lime green eyes wearing a dark blue kimono with a green obi and straw sandals came out of the bushes ahead of Akane holding a bamboo basket filled with herbs with both hands. He held the basket out to his mother with a big smile on his face. "Look, look! I found so many by the river!"

"Wow, you managed to fill the whole basket." Akane complimented bending her knees resting her hands on them to inspect the basket. "And there's not a single poisonous plant in there." She lightly patted Kojiro on the top of his head giving him a warm smile. "I'm so proud of you Kojiro. Only four years old and already you can tell the herbs apart." Kojiro gave her an big grin showing his teeth as she took the basket from her son's hands and rested it against her hip with one hand and held out the other to Kojiro. "I think it's time to go home now."

"Kay!" Kojiro grabbed onto his mother's hand and began to walk back to the village. As they walk, Kojiro was deep in thought. ' _Four years since I got reincarnated, hard to believe it's been that long.'_ He looked up to his mother as she ducked under a tree branch. ' _T_ _o me, it feels like it was only yesterday that I died, by an ambulance ironically, and have Akane for a mother and Kosuke as a father._ ' He had a small smile on his face as he turned his eyes back forward to see where he was going through the misty forest. ' _Even though it's in a different world, I'm glad I got reincarnated here. I don't know if this really is the Naruto world or a world similar to it, but I'm gonna try and make the most of this new life of mine._ '

"Kojiro." Akane said getting the small boy's attention as they pass through the gates to the village looking down to him. "What do you feel like having for dinner tonight?"

"Curry!" Kojiro yelled excitedly getting various looks of amusement and confusion from those walking by. ' _I love curry! I think almost as much if not more than Naruto loves ramen._ '

Akane chuckled at the boy's excitement. "Curry it is then." She focused her eyes in front of her with an amused smile on her face. "I swear you're just like your father when it comes to favorite foods. His favorite food is curry too, can't get enough of the stuff." They stopped in front of their house and Akane let go of Kojiro's hand to open the door. "Let's put these herbs away then we can go shopping for what we need."

"Kay!" Kojiro shouted running inside taking off his sandals and climbing up the stairs to enter his room. Once inside and closed the door, Kojiro looked around his room before going to his closet and opening it before reaching into a chest filled with wooden toys and pulled out a red scroll. ' _I'm surprised they haven't found this yet, especially mom since she cleans the house every two days._ ' He opened it to see it was filled with different symbols. ' _Not that they can read it anyway since I'm using a code I made in middle school. I wrote down everything I could remember from the Naruto anime and manga so in case I did get reincarnated in Naruto, I'll know what should change and what should stay the same._ ' His eyes narrowed as he read the scroll. ' _Problem is, I don't even know if this is Naruto or what timeline I'm in if it is._ '

"Kojiro, it's time to go!" Akane called from the bottom of the stairs with a bag hanging on her shoulder.

"Coming!" Kojiro called back rolling up the scroll and placing it back in the chest before leaving his room and down the stairs to his waiting mother who was wearing her hair in a bun being held in place by the hair stick she got from Kosuke. They put their sandals back on and Kojiro took Akane's hand as they left the house.

* * *

 **Kojiro P.O.V.**

We walked around the village market place as I looked around to see different food and game stalls being set up while some buildings were being decorated with blue and green streamers with the villagers happily talking to one another. After living in this village for four years, I learned that the village holds a festival every year to honor the mizukage and the ninja that died for the village.

' _Hard to believe this place is called The Bloody Mist village because of the graduation requirements._ ' I thought as I continued to look around. I saw different stalls for takoyaki, yakisoba, Toumorokoshi, Ikayaki, Kakigori, kingyo sukui, yo-yo tsuri, masks, and other different kinds of food and game stalls. ' _I always wanted to go to a japanese festival in my past life._ ' I looked up to my mother as she looked over the vegetables to see which ones were fresh and placed the ones she chose in her bag. ' _I wonder if she'll take me this year. Dad's always away on missions and mom is busy making medicine for the sick and elderly that we couldn't go the other times the festival happened._ '

"Alright, that should be enough." Akane mumbled to herself as she pulled out some ryo to pay for what she put in her bag. She looked down to me and smiled. "Do you want to walk around before going home Kojiro?"

I nodded my head as the man that sold my mother the vegetables had a look of surprise on his face. "This kid is your son?"

Akane nodded with a confused look on her face. "Yes, why do you ask?"

The man just gave a sheepish smile rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry ma'am, I thought that he was your daughter for a minute there."

' _Another person that thought I was a girl?_ ' I thought giving the man a half-lidded stare which went unnoticed as the two adults converse with each other. ' _Do I really look that girly right now?_ ' I started looking around for anything that can be used as a mirror when I found a window across from us and inwardly groaned when I saw that I had a somewhat feminine face and my hair reaching to my shoulders. ' _Why did I decide to let my hair grow long? It's still 'male long' but with this face I'll always be mistaken for a girl._ ' I had a thoughtful look as I gathered my hair with my hands to make a spiky ponytail and look at my reflection again. ' _Maybe if I do this I'll look more like a guy?_ ' I groaned again letting go of my hair to let fall. ' _No good, I just look like a tomboy doing my hair like that._ '

I heard rapid footsteps getting closer from behind me before I was tackled to the ground face first with arms wrapped around my midsection. I groaned in pain trying to push myself back up only to feel something heavy on my back.

"Kojiro!" I turned my head to look what or who was on my back to see a girl my past life's age with long black hair tied in a bun and brown eyes wearing a pink kimono with a purple flower pattern along the bottom on my back smiling at me. My eyes moved down from her face to see her overly large chest that's barely covered were pressed against my back causing my face to turn beet red before turning my eyes away. "It's good to see you again, you're as cute as ever!"

"Noriko, it's been so long!" Akane greeted with a big smile as the now named Noriko got off me and I quickly got to my feet and ran to hide behind my mother. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine Akane." Noriko replied smiling as she dusted herself off. "Just finished my latest mission and I have the rest of the day off." She looked down to me as I tried to stay hidden behind my mother before turning her attention back to her. "So I thought I'd come and see how you, Kosuke, and Kojiro are doing."

' _Why did the she-demon have to come back today of all days?!_ ' I mentally complained clutching my mother's kimono like a lifeline as the two talked. ' _The last time she paid us a visit I thought I was going to die! Who in their right minds would let a toddler get near those suffocating torture devices she calls a chest?!_ ' I cringed at the thought of last year when Noriko paid us a visit.

 **Flashback**

 _I was sitting in the living room playing with blocks as I let my mind wander trying to make sense of what I learned the year before during my parents' anniversary when I heard someone knocking the front door._

 _"I wonder who that could be." Akane said to herself leaving the kitchen to answer the door. I just kept messing with my blocks making a replica of Saiken like I did with Kurama and Isobu when dual squealing startled me which made me place a block on a little too hard causing my replica to collapse._

 _'Oh come on!' I mentally shouted running my hands through my hair in frustration. 'I was almost finished with that!' I got to my feet and left the living room to see my mother talking to a teenage girl. 'Who's she? I've never seen her before.' I looked to her chest and quickly looked away blushing. 'If Jason were here, he would most likely tell me a dirty joke about her breasts before trying to flirt with her only to be shot down and get a slap to the face while being called a pervert.' Since I was lost in thought, I didn't notice that the girl stopped talking to my mother and ran in wrapping her arms around me pressing my face between her breasts causing my face to turn a new shade of red as my arms flailed helplessly to get away._

 _"Oh my god you're so cute!" The girl squealed tightening her grip making it hard for me to breathe. She looked to my mother as I continued to struggle to get air in my lungs. "Akane, when did you and Kosuke have a daughter?! She's so adorable I could just take her home with me!"_

 _'Can't… breathe…' I started to lose strength in my arms and I was starting to feel dizzy as I fought to stay conscious. 'Don't tell me I'm going to die again! And by a woman's chest no less! Any pervert would love to go out this way, but I don't want to die again!'_

 _"Um, Noriko." Akane said nervously as she noticed my arm going limp and I stopped fighting. "Can you let go of Kojiro? I don't think he's breathing."_

 _Noriko looked confused before looking down to me to see that my eyes were rolled back and gasped before pushing me away from her chest keeping her hands on my shoulders and started to panic. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She started to shake me hoping to get a reaction. "Please breathe, don't die on me!" She stopped shaking me and gave my mother a confused look. "Wait, he?"_

 **End of Flashback**

A chill went down my spine as I remembered almost dying that day. Ever since then, after Noriko finishes a mission, she would pay us a visit to 'play' with me when in reality she just wants to squeeze me to death and have me try on girls clothes. It was torture and a blow to my dignity.

"So Akane, did you get a yukata for Kojiro?" Noriko asked getting my attention at the word yukata. She gestured to me and my mother looked down to me. "He's never been to a festival before right? Why not take this chance and have fun with your son?"

"I would love to take Kojiro to the festival." Akane replied gently removing my hands from her kimono to hold my hand and I knew there was going to be a 'but' soon. "But with Kosuke out on a mission and me being busy making medicine, we just couldn't find the time."

' _Looks like I'll be missing another festival_.' I thought with a look of disappointment look on my face as I looked around. ' _I was hoping to go this year. Everything looks like it'll be fun._ '

"Yeah, that is a problem if you want to go as a family." Noriko nodded crossing her arms in thought. She then snapped her fingers and smirked. "I got it! Why don't I make the medicine while you go to the festival with Kojiro?"

"You Noriko?" Akane asked in surprise which soon turned into uncertainty. "Are you sure you can do it? I know you haven't had any medical training."

Noriko gave my mother a smug smirk before giving her the peace sign. "No need to worry, while on my mission I learned a thing or two about medicine." she then got behind us and started to gently push us. "So go on, you deserve some time out of the house. And what better way than at a festival?"

"You sure you can handle it?" Akane asked as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder, uncertain that Noriko is up to the task of making medicine.

"I'll be fine!" Noriko said with a smile pounding a fist to her chest causing her cleavage to bounce around a little. "Just leave everything to me and go have fun with your son." She bent her knees slightly resting her hands on them to be at eye level with me. "Next time I see your dad, I'll talk him into taking more days off so you all can have some family time." She straightened herself to talk with my mother. "Well, have fun at the festival." She gave a wave before running to where the hospital is.

' _I guess I called her a she-demon a little too early._ ' I thought watching the teen running before looking up to my mother with a smile on my face. ' _She just gave me a chance to not only go to the festival, but also spend time with my mother._ '

"That was kind of her, huh Kojiro?" Akane said smiling down to me. "Looks like we'll be able to go to the festival after all."

"Yay!" I shouted in excitement with a big smile on my face. When she looked away to double check what she bought I let out a silent sigh with a tired look on my face. ' _Who knew acting like a child would be so hard?_ '

* * *

When we got home, Akane went to the kitchen to put the groceries away while I went to my room and locked the door which was hard since I had to go on my tippy toes and barely reached the lock.

"Okay." I muttered to myself as move to stand in the middle of my room and sat down with my legs crossed. "Let's see if this'll work." I closed my eyes and started to take slow, even breaths. I tried to picture chakra as a blue flame in my mind hoping to at least feel it circulating through my body. I was at this for an hour and haven't felt anything different so I sighed opening my eyes and stretched when my body felt stiff. "I guess it'll take more than meditation to feel my chakra." I looked over my body for a minute. "I don't think my body's ready for any intense training yet."

"Kojiro!" I heard my mother call out. "Come down for a minute!"

"Coming!" I called back getting up and went to my door to unlock it and left my room to go downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I walked to the living room to see my mother with her hands behind her back smiling down to me. "What is it mama?"

She just continued to smile as she moved her arms to her front for me to see that she was holding a blue yukata with a yellow obi hanging on her arm. "Ta-da! Your very own yukata!" My eyes widened at the yukata and I walked closer to get a better look at it. It was amazing, I could tell that it was handmade by the barely visible stitching on the sleeve close to the left shoulder showing that she accidentally ripped it. Other than that it was perfect. "Do you like it Kojiro?"

"Yeah!" I shouted with childish enthusiasm as a smile formed on my face. I wrapped my arms around her legs in a tight hug. "I love it mama!" I turned my head to the side to look at the yukata again. ' _I really do love it. Sure I wear kimonos a lot, but a yukata is more comfortable during this time of year._ '

"That's good." Akane let out a relieved sigh while she gently ran her hand through my hair. "I've been working on it for days for when we get the chance to go to the festival." I let go of her legs as she knelt down to me. "Do you want to try it on Kojiro?"

"Yeah!" I nodded my head excitedly as I took the yukata obi from her hands and ran to the bathroom to change leaving my amused mother in the living room. After I closed and lock the bathroom door, I held the yukata up to my eyes. "I can't believe that she made this. If she told me she bought it I would've believed her." I took off my kimono and shrugged on the yukata and tied the obi before looking myself over with a full-body mirror the was next to the sink. I held a strand of my hair looking at it and sighed. "Again, why did I decide to grow my hair?" I reached into a drawer and pulled out a hair band and started to tie my hair into a spiky ponytail. When I finished tying my hair in a messy spiked ponytail, I looked myself in the mirror again and sighed hanging my head in defeat. "I knew it, I do look like a tomboy." My hand found it's way to my neck where I felt a small almost unnoticeable bump there. "Other than this and down below, there's no way to know I'm a guy."

Knocking caught my attention and I turned to the door before I heard Akane's voice call out from the other side. "Kojiro, is everything alright in there?"

"I'm fine mama!" I called out adjusting the yukata a little before I went to unlock the door. When I walked out, I gave my mother the most convincing childish excited smile I can muster. "How do I look mama?"

"Oh Kojiro, it looks great on you." Akane said with a smile looking me from head to toe. When she saw how I did my hair she giggled at how messy it was. "Turn around for me Kojiro." I gave her a confused look but did what she requested. She knelt down to her knees and undid my ponytail running her hands through my hair to straighten it. "Now stay still Kojiro, I don't want to accidentally tug on your hair." I made a hum of confirmation as she started to gather my hair to make a ponytail with her hands as she used the hairband to tie it in place. After a few minutes, Akane moved her hands away from my hair and nodded in satisfaction. "Done, that's much better."

I went to the bathroom to look myself over with the mirror again and saw that my hair still spikes but my ponytail was neater now. "Wow, you're amazing mama!"

"I just had a lot of practice with my own hair." Akane replied as she got to her feet. "Now you're ready for the festival."

"Will papa go with us to the festival?" I asked looking up to her.

She just gave me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Kojiro, but papa is still-"

"I'm home!" My father's voice called from the front door cutting her off. We look to the door to the bathroom to see Kosuke walking in.

"Kosuke!" Akane exclaimed eyes wide in surprise as she the yukata on the couch's armrest before walking over to her husband. "Why are you back already? You said your mission would a month long."

"I managed to finish early." Kosuke replied taking off his headband from his forehead and tied it around his neck giving Akane a kiss on the cheek. "It wasn't easy fending them off from the border, but we managed somehow." He knelt down to me and grinned. "Hey there kiddo, were you a good boy while papa was away?"

"Uh-huh!" I replied nodding before jumping to wrap my arms around his neck. "I missed you papa!"

Kosuke laughed returning my hug. "I missed you too kiddo." He got up holding me as he looked at my yukata. "Is that a new yukata you're wearing Kojiro?"

"Yup!" I nodded smiling. "Mama made it for me!"

"Did she?" He asked in feign surprise as he looked over to his wife. "I see you're still good with a thread and needle if you made this Akane."

Akane giggled as she lightly bonked Kosuke on the head a playful smile on her face. "Flattery will get you nowhere mister." She took me out of my pouting father's arms heading to the front door. "But your timing is perfect as always, we were about to leave for the festival." She looked back with a challenging smirk. "Your not too tired to go to the festival with your family are you?"

Kosuke returned the smirk walking to join us. "Of course not, I wouldn't miss the chance to spend time with my wife and son." When he was next to us Akane put me down and I took both their hands in my small ones as my father looked down to me with a grin. "Hey Kojiro, how about we find out who can scoop the most goldfish with one scoop?"

"You're on papa!" I shouted accepting his challenge causing both my parents to laugh as we left our house heading to the festival. ' _I still don't know for sure if I am in the Naruto world or not. So until I'm one hundred percent sure, I'll stop worrying about it and enjoy my new life with my parents._ ' Nodding to myself at my decision, I just enjoyed the silent walk holding my parents hands tightly.

* * *

3rd P.O.V.

In a dark cave where a giant, earthen-colored humanoid entity with a decayed appearance, a body shaped into a robe, and a number of spike-like protrusions on its back with nine eyes and shackled arms and legs stood in the center, a man wearing an orange spiral mask and black robes with red cloud patterns looked up to the giant statue. Behind the man was a man whose body resembled a venus flytrap and was half white and half black with yellow eyes.

"What do you want Zetsu?" The masked man demanded not turning around to face the other. "I must make preparations."

"My, someone needs to loosen up." The white half said playfully snickering.

" **We felt a strange chakra signature and thought we should inform you.** " The black half said seriously ignoring his white half.

"A strange chakra signature?" The man questioned turning to face Zetsu.

"Yeah Yeah!" The white half replied with a carefree grin. "Boy was it strange."

"Explain." The masked man ordered.

" **It seemed unstable but stable at the same time.** " The black half replied. " **But that wasn't what made it unusual. What's strange about it is that it doesn't feel human but at the same time it does.** "

"What do you mean?" The masked man questioned.

"It's how we said." White Zetsu replied. "One minute it feels human, the next it doesn't."

" **We found the source and confirmed that it is human.** " Black Zetsu continued. " **A little boy from the hidden mist village. Since things aren't going as planned with the fourth mizukage, we think you might find a use for the boy.** "

The masked man hummed in thought. "It is true the the fourth mizukage is struggling against my control." He turned back to the statue. "It won't be long before he breaks out of my genjutsu. He won't of use to us if he does." He looked back to Zetsu. "Very well, keep me informed about this boy. The mist village has served it's purpose, I think it's time to reduce the five shinobi nations to just four." Zetsu nodded and began to sink into the ground vanishing completely. After Zetsu left, the man's face went back to the giant statue contemplating what Zetsu has told him. "A boy with a strange chakra signature huh? Might be useful in the future."

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter four folks! Now onto the reviews!**

 **CriticalFanatic: Glad to hear that it satisfied you. I hope it picks up soon too.**

 **SilverDragon1218: Yay! *Raises hands to the sky***

 **KitKedd: What Kojiro meant was that he won't know if he looks like a girly boy until he gets older. When you compare babies or two year olds of opposite genders, don't you get confused too?**

 **Tsuki: You want to make him a girly boy? Sure, sounds like it'll make a nice running gag lol.**

 **Overlord Sombra: It will be post Yagura. glad to hear that your looking forward to the next chapter and here you go!**

 **HinataSoup: Glad to hear that you think it's good so far. I'll try to make as many chapter as possible.**

 **And that's it for the reviews everyone. I look forward to seeing you all again. Again, my updates might take a while until I get a new laptop so I ask that you bear with me and I thank you for your patience.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello my fabulous readers! In case you forgotten who I am, it's Unknown entity328 bringing you the next chapter of New Life in Naruto! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long everyone, but I had trouble deciding how I wanted this chapter to go and doing a crap ton of research so I was prepared to write this chapter and I hope it all paid off. As much as I want to stay and chat, I believe I kept you all waiting long enough so I shall now open the curtain to chapter five of New Life in Naruto!**

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Chapter Five: It's All in the Cards

Kojiro P.O.V.

I sat in the center of my room with my legs crossed and held a leaf against my forehead as I had my eyes closed in concentration. Slowly, I let go of the leaf and it stayed on my forehead for a few seconds before it fell off and I was breathing hard from exhaustion. I picked up the leaf and noticed that the edges were a little singed around the edges and damp in the center.

"Again?" I muttered twirling the leaf between my fingers to look at both sides. "Why does this keep happening? This is the third time this month." I walked over to my window and threw the leaf out and watched it fall to the ground. I couldn't see it hit the ground because of all the mist, but I know for a fact that it hit a cat in the eye if the yowling that came afterward was any indication. I cringed when I heard trash cans being toppled over and quickly shut my window. "I think it's time for a break."

I left my room and walked down the hall and down the stairs to see what my parents are doing in the living room. When I reached the living room I saw that they're both sitting on the couch reading through a scroll with concerned looks on their faces. When I saw the kanji for 'Fourth Mizukage' I knew that it was a new mission for one of them, what I don't know is why both of them looked so concerned about it.

"What are we going to do Kosuke?" Akane asked her husband with uncertainty in her voice. "Kojiro's too young to be by himself and Noriko's out on a mission, who can we ask to watch him?" My eyes widened when I heard that the mission was for both of my parents.

"I don't know Akane." Kosuke replied re-reading the scroll with a frown. "Though it's strange that lord Mizukage sent this to both of us. From what's written here, you or I can easily handle it by ourselves." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "So why both of us?"

"Mama, papa?" I called out making my presence known as the two jumped at me speaking suddenly and looked to me with wide eyes. I gave them a curious look as I walked in the living room. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, Kojiro." Akane let out a sigh with a hand where her heart is giving me a small smile. "You startled us, we thought you were still asleep."

"Sorry mama." I apologized lowering my head sheepishly.

"It's fine Kojiro." Akane replied getting to her feet and walked over to me and knelt down to be at eye level with me. "Mama and papa were just deciding who you should stay with while we're out on a mission."

"Both of you?" I asked in confusion. ' _What mission could be so important that it requires both of them?_ ' Kosuke rolled up the scroll and got up to join us at the doorway. ' _I thought I heard dad say that either of them could easily finish it with no problem._ '

"That's right Kojiro." Kosuke nodded going to one knee. "Lord mizukage must really want this mission to be a success if he's sending us both." He then turned his attention to Akane. "How about Mrs. Shinomiya Akane? She's good with kids and has grown quite attached to Kojiro."

"That's right!" Akane's eyes widened in realization that they did have someone to watch me. Mrs. Shinomiya is a elderly woman who lives by herself after her husband died of a heart attack. She's a kind and gentle person who knew right away that I was a boy just by looking at me so I liked her faster than any other person I met. Akane smiled down to me. "Kojiro, do you want Mrs. Shinomiya to watch you while mama and papa are away?" I nodded my excitedly causing both of my parents to chuckle. "Then go pack your things and we'll wait for you at the front door okay?"

"Kay!" I ran out of the living room and climbed up the stairs entering my room. "I wonder how Mrs. Shinomiya is doing, I hope she didn't throw her back out again." I went to my closet bringing out a few days worth of clothes, my coded scroll, and a blue and green back pack before I started to fold my clothes. I placed my clothes in my backpack and put my arms through the straps before leaving my room to go down the stairs to see my parents wearing their ninja gear and headbands.

"Do you have everything Kojiro?" Kosuke asked as he adjusted his headband.

"Yup." I nodded bouncing my backpack a little to adjust it.

"Then let's go." Akane said as she reached for my hand and Kosuke opened the front door and we all walked out of the house and locked it before walking through the village.

* * *

We approached an old house with a cherry blossom tree on the other side of the stone wall. Standing in front of the house was an elderly woman in her eighties with grey hair tied in a bun with a hair stick going through it wearing a purple kimono with a burgundy obi holding a broom sweeping. As we got closer I saw that her eyes were squinted making it look like her eyes were closed and I knew right away that the old lady was Mrs. Shinomiya. She looked our way before smiling and giving a wave to me that I was more than happy to return.

"My, what a surprise." Mrs. Shinomiya said when we reached her. "Good to see you again Akane, Kosuke." She then looked down to me. "And of course you too Kojiro, look how big you've grown. At this rate you'll be a handsome young man like your father." I just grinned happily to her.

"Oh please Mrs. Shinomiya." Kosuke said rubbing the back of his head with a light blush. "I'm average at best, Kojiro definitely got his looks from his mother."

"Don't sell yourself short Kosuke." Akane said wrapping her arm around his leaning against him a little. "You're not average, you're perfect."

Mrs. Shinomiya laughed good naturedly at my parents love-dovey moment. "So what brings you all here today?"

"We were hoping you could watch Kojiro for us." Akane explained letting go of a blushing Kosuke's arm. "We both just got a mission and we have no one to watch him."

"I would love to." Mrs. Shinomiya nodded. "I enjoy Kojiro's company." She looked down to me with a warm smile before looking back to my parents. "He'll be in good hands with me."

"Thank you so much Mrs. Shinomiya!" Akane said before kneeling down to look me in the eyes. "Now Kojiro, be good for Mrs. Shinomiya while we're away okay?"

"I will mama!" I replied childishly as I walked over to stand next to Mrs. Shinomiya.

"Well, we better be off now." Kosuke said before looking down to me and grinned and reached down to ruffle my hair. "I'll be sure to bring you back something cool Kojiro." I just laughed when I thought to the other things he brought back for from his missions and couldn't wait to see what he'll bring back this time. He removed his hand and he and Akane turned to walk to the village gates looking back to me and Mrs. Shinomiya to wave that we returned until they were out of sight.

"Let's go inside now Kojiro." I looked up to Mrs. Shinomiya who smiled down to me. "Let's put away your things then we can have some of your favorite snacks."

"Kay!" I replied running inside the house taking off my sandals at the entrance before running down the halls stopping at the third door from the right and slid the door open to see an empty room that had a small turtle drawing on the wall on the other side of the room under the window. Whenever Mrs. Shinomiya decides to watch over me while both my parents are away, I always stayed in this room that it kind of became a second room to me and Mrs. Shinomiya drew a turtle to show that I'm always welcome in there. I went inside and took off my backpack to place on the floor in the middle of the room and left to continue walking the hall.

I walked through the engawa and looked to the side to see a beautiful zen garden outside with large rocks and the sand surrounding them making a ripple-like effect while the rest of the sand was wavy. I stopped by a pair of shoji doors and opened them to see Mrs. Shinomiya setting a plate of senbei on the table in the middle of the room.

"Oh Kojiro, did you finish putting everything away?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked when she noticed me.

lf to sleep.

"I'll do that later." I replied entering and sitting on one of the cushions around the table. "But first, time for some senbei!" I reached for one when Mrs. Shinomiya lightly swatted my hand.

"Now Kojiro, you know the rules." Mrs. Shinomiya lightly scolded me. "You have to wash your hands first, then you can have some senbei."

I pouted staring at the senbei before getting up to head to the bathroom to wash my hands. as I walked down the engawa again at a slow pace, I watched as cherry blossom petals slowly fell off the tree down to the zen garden like it was pink snow painting the white sand a beautiful mixture of white and pink with a smile. "I can never get tired of watching this view." I stopped for a moment and held out a hand as a petal gently fell on it and I brought it closer to myself to get a better look at it. I gently blowed to let the petal to fall to the sand again before continuing my way to the bathroom.

* * *

3rd P.O.V.

While Kojiro left to wash his hands, Mrs. Shinomiya left the sitting room to walk down the engawa in the opposite direction Kojiro walked to go in Kojiro's room unpacking what he brought and placing his clothes in the closet before pulling out the futon inside. She laid the futon on the floor and straightened it before going back to the closet and pillow and blanket which she laid on the futon before going back to unpacking what was left in Kojiro's backpack. She rummaged through the backpack and pulled out a red scroll and looked at it in amusement.

"I see he brought it after all." Mrs. Shinomiya said to herself chuckling lightly before unrolling the scroll a little to read what was inside. "Kojiro never fails to bring this with him when he stays over." She had an amused smile as she re-rolled the scroll and placed it back in Kojiro's backpack. "And as usual I can't read it. That is a smart boy Akane and Kosuke have if he's already writing codes." She left the room and walked down the engawa to go back into the sitting room and when she opened the shoji doors to see Kojiro sitting on a cushion nibbling on a senbei like a rabbit nibbling on a piece of cabbage. Mrs. Shinomiya giggled when she pictured the five year old with bunny ears and tail. ' _He's so cute with those chubby cheeks and his hair tied in that spiky ponytail._ '

Kojiro noticed her and gave her a confused look. "Mrs. Shinomiya, why are you giggling?"

Mrs. Shinomiya just shook her head and entered the sitting room to sit across from Kojiro. "It's nothing Kojiro." Kojiro stared at her before reaching for another senbei and happily nibbled at it. "You really like Senbei, don't you Kojiro?"

Kojiro nodded. "It's not curry, but it's the next best thing." Mrs. Shinomiya laughed at that when Kojiro finished his senbei and reached for another.

"Don't eat too much Kojiro, or it's going to spoil your appetite." Mrs. Shinomiya said as she gently took the senbei out of Kojiro's hand and placed it back on the plate. "How about we watch the cherry blossoms until it's time for dinner?"

"Kay!" Kojiro replied getting up and walked to the shoji doors opening them and watched in awe as the wind gently blowed making the branches of the cherry blossom tree sway back and forth as the yellowish-orange of the setting sun seeps through the gaps. The clinking of the wind chime acting like a musician playing a gentle soothing melody. "So pretty, like it's dancing."

"Yes, it does look like it's dancing doesn't it?" Mrs. Shinomiya said as she sat on the edge of the engawa gesturing for Kojiro to sit next to her which he did and they both watched the beautiful dance the cherry blossom tree was doing for them as it's petals scattered. Mrs. Shinomiya looked to Kojiro from the corner of her eye to see the big smile on his face as he watched the petals fall onto the white sand of her zen garden before looking back. "Kojiro." Kojiro looked away to look to her. "Do you know what cherry blossoms stand for?" When the boy shook his head she explained. "They stand for renewal and hope. My husband adored these flowers even though they only stay in full bloom for a week. He always says that it reminds him that there's always hope for the younger generation to fix the mistakes of the older generation." She closed her eyes feeling the wind caressing her skin and listening to the clink of the wind chime.

"Why would he say that?" Kojiro asked tilting his head in confusion.

"I suppose it was his way of saying that adults make many mistakes that cannot be taken back." Mrs. Shinomiya replied opening her eyes looking to the cherry blossom tree. "Which is why he had a cherry blossom tree planted in our zen garden, to remind himself that there's still hope for the world through the younger generation. The past teaches us the mistakes of the previous generation so we don't repeat it. But in my opinion, it's also a lesson to teach the younger generation that there are some mistakes that can be fixed and be renewed as something great." She then reached into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a black box tied closed with a red string. She tugged on the string untying it and lifted the lid of the box to stare at what was inside. She handed the box to Kojiro who took and looked inside to see a picture of two people standing together wearing traditional wedding attire.

"Is this you and Mr. Shinomiya?" Kojiro asked looking to the elderly woman and back to the picture.

Mrs. Shinomiya nodded taking the box back to look at the picture. "We learned of a great mistake that was made and decided to fix it. It wasn't easy and it took many years, but eventually it was resolved. It wasn't until it was resolve that we both discovered we fell in love with each other along the way."

"And then you got married?" Kojiro asked excitedly, watching the cherry blossoms long forgotten.

"Yes." Mrs. Shinomiya nodded. "He was a wonderful man, I just wish you had a chance to meet him." She gently ran her fingers over the face of the man in the picture before placing the lid back on and setting it on her lap to continue watching the cherry blossoms. "You would have loved listening to his stories of when he was young."

"Was he a ninja?" Kojiro asked curiously his eyes sparkling in excitement. When Mrs. Shinomiya nodded her head Kojiro jumped to his feet. "That's so cool! I want to be a ninja when I get older like mama and papa!"

"Really, that's good to hear." Mrs. Shinomiya smiled at the five year old. "I'm sure you'll be a fine ninja one day Kojiro." With that said, they both went back to watching the cherry blossom petals fall.

* * *

Kojiro P.O.V.

Three Days Later

I sat in my room reading rummaging through my backpack to pull out a blue scroll that I left next to my red coded scroll and unfurled it to see it was filled with messy, barely readable kanji. I frowned at what I was staring at and made a mental not to practice my handwriting when I get the chance as I took out a bottle of ink and a brush from my backpack and laid the scroll down onto the floor. I took the stopper off and dipped the bristles of the brush in it before pulling it out letting the excess ink drip off back into the bottle. I then started to write in the scroll about the day I had, I guess in a way it's a diary which helps me cope with the fact that I'm reincarnated and can no longer see my past family and friends.

' _No, stop that Kyle!_ ' I rapidly shook my head to chase away the sad thoughts. ' _You promised yourself that you'll live this life to the fullest as Kojiro!_ ' I furled the scroll and placed it back in my backpack before getting up to look out the window to see a few birds flying by. "I wonder if mama and papa are alright out there." My hand found its way over my mouth when I realized what I said. I lowered my hand and continued to look out my window. "I guess it became a habit to call them that." I chuckled and focused my attention to my reflection that was on the glass of the window. "Well, they are my parents now, I even look like them." I ran my fingers through my spiky blue hair that was the same shade as my father's and looked into the lime green shade of my eyes that were the same as my mother's. I removed my hair tie to let my hair fall and I saw that I was the spitting image of Akane with Kosuke's hair. But upon closer inspection, you can see I also inherited some features from my father other than my hair. Like my cheekbones were a little lower than my mother's.

Knocking on my door pulled me from my thoughts and I turned to see it was open with Mrs. Shinomya standing just outside of my room holding a deck of cards with a blue back giving me a gentle smile. "Would you like me to do a reading for you Kojiro?" When she said reading I knew right away what she was going to do and nodded excitedly. Mrs. Shinomiya is a fortune teller in the village, I remember my parents saying that all her predictions came true after she did a tarot reading. She chuckled as she entered my room and sat down with me following suit across from her as she shuffled her cards and spread them out on the floor. "Now I want you to think about what you want to know and pick three cards Kojiro."

"Okay." I nodded as I looked over the face-down cards thinking carefully of what I want to know. I started pointing to three cards and Mrs. Shinomiya took them out.

"Good, now I'll flip them over and tell you what the cards mean." Mrs. Sinomiya said as she gathered the remaining cards and took the four I chose to place them in a row before reaching for the one on her left. "First, your past." I fidgeted nervously as she flipped the card to reveal a man suspended, upside-down with His right foot is bound to a tree but his left foot remains free, bent at the knee and tucked in behind his right leg. His arms are bent, with hands held behind his back, forming an inverted triangle. "The upright Hanged Man." She looked up to me as I stared at the card in confusion. "You sacrificed something great for the good of another, haven't you Kojiro?"

I looked up to her in surprise. ' _What, sacrificed something great?_ ' I looked down to the card again and my eyes widened in realization. ' _Is she talking about when I pushed Jason out of the way from that ambulance?_ '

"It would appear that you know what I'm referring to." Mrs. Shinomiya stated causing me to look up to her as she looked back to the card. "In an act of selflessness, you willing gave something up for the better of the other." She then reached for the middle card. "Now for your present." She flipped it over to reveal a number of naked men, women and children rising up from their graves, arms outspread and responding to the trumpet call of the archangel, Gabriel, who hovers high above them. "The upright Judgement. You recently came to a revelation and that you must now review and evaluate your past experiences and learn from them."

' _Review and evaluate my past experiences, what's that supposed to mean?_ ' I thought in confusion as I thought carefully of what Mrs. Shinomiya told me.

"The Judgement also suggests that you must live your life differently and be true to yourself and your needs." Mrs. Shinomiya said giving me a small smile as she moved her hand to the last card. "And now your future." She flipped it to reveal a skeleton wearing purple robes holding a scythe on top of a tomb stone. "The Upright Death."

I visibly shook when I saw the card. "D-death?"

Mrs. Shinomiya gave me a reassuring smile. "Fear not Kojiro, the Death card is the most misunderstood card out of all the arcana." She looked down to the card. "You must put the past behind you and part ways and be ready to embrace new opportunities and possibilities. It may be difficult to let go of the past at times but you will soon see how important it is so that you can bring renewal and transformation into your life." She looked up to me as she removed her hand from the card. "Similarly, Death indicates a time of significant transformation, change and transition. You need to profoundly transform yourself and clear away any of the old in order to bring in the new. Any change at this time should be welcomed as a positive, cleansing, transformative force in your life. The death and clearing away of limiting factors can open the door to a wider, more satisfying experience of life." She chuckled when she saw the confused look on my face and picked up the cards putting them away. "You may not understand now, but you will someday when the time comes." She looked past me to my window to see that it was dark out. "My, it has gotten so late." She got to her feet and walked to the door stopping at the doorway to look back and give me a smile. "Good night Kojiro." She the closed the door.

"I can never understand anything she says when she does her readings." I muttered to myself as I pulled the blanket off my futon and laid down pulling over myself as I stared at the ceiling and my thoughts went back to the Death card. I shook my head and turned to lay on my side closing my eyes. "Stop thinking about it Kojiro, just go to sleep."

* * *

One Week Later

I sat on the engawa staring at nothing as my mind kept going back to that tarot reading Mrs. Shinomiya did for me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and got up to walk around a bit. As I was passing by the front door, I saw someone at the front wearing ninja gear with a mist headband and had a purple bundle in their arms. When I got a closer look I saw it was a man around my father's height wearing a kind of white mask with two black markings on it.

"Excuse me." I called out to them getting their attention. "Are you here to see Mrs. Shinomiya? If you are I can go get her."

The man just shook his head. "I was told that Kojiro Kurosawa was staying here. Would you be him?" When I nodded the man walked over to me and knelt down before holding the bundle out to me and I looked to him in confusion. "I was instructed to give these to you, you'll understand when you look what's inside."

I nodded taking the bundle from the man and started to open to see what was inside and my eyes widened in horror dropping the bundle shaking my head in denial backing away from it. In the bundle were two mist headbands soaked in blood and a single hair stick that had a blue flower on the end.

"Kojiro, is there someone outside?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked as she came outside to see who was outside. "Oh my, what's a hunter ninja doing here?" When she got closer she had a worried expression when she saw that tears were flowing down my horrified face. "Kojiro? What's wrong?" I couldn't say anything for if I did I might just snap and breaking out sobbing so I just pointed to the bundle and she followed my finger and gasped when she saw the inside of the bundle.

"We found them near the edge of the border." The hunter ninja said as Mrs. Shinomiya wrapped her arms around me and I couldn't hold it in anymore as I turned to bury my face in her kimono letting loud wails and I didn't care who heard me. "I'm sorry for your loss." The man bowed and vanished.

I continued to wail as Mrs. Shinomiya was shushing gently while rubbing my back. "It's okay, it's okay Kojiro. They haven't found any bodies yet, so there's a chance they're still alive out there." I couldn't hear anything through my crying and eventually I cried myself to sleep.

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 **Now it's time for my favorite part, replying to your reviews!**

 **CriticalFanatic: Well I hope the wait was worth it and I thank you for your support.**

 **SilverDragon1218: Who knows, you'll have to keep reading to find out. It may be a good thing, or maybe a bad thing, depends on your perspective of good and bad. Tee-hee, that's a secret. Glad to know you love it and rest assured that more chapters will be coming soon.**

 **KitKedd: Oh crap, I messed up. I researched the Akatsuki for that chapter and couldn't find an accurate timeline for when they formed so I went with an idea one of my guy friends suggested. Sorry if it confused you. *on hands and knees bowing***

 **Daisuke Sjj: Glad you liked it.**

 **guest reader: Only time will tell.**

 **Sadly, this is where I must take my leave. But I look forward to seeing you all again next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 6

**The next chapter is here my beloved readers! I must say it was incredibly difficult deciding what to write for this chapter and what should be written in it. But it's here and I'm happy with how it turned out and I hope you all like it. Now before I raise the curtain for the chapter to begin, I have a question for you my readers. Instant or gradually? Now that I asked my question, on with the chapter!**

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Chapter Six: A Possible Dream Found?

3rd P.O.V.

Kojiro laid in his futon clutching the hair stick and blood soaked headbands close to his chest, his back facing the door that was opened a crack where a worried Noriko and Mrs. Shinomiya were on the other side watching the five year old's shoulders shake trying and failing to hold back a small sob but he ignored them. It wasn't until he heard the door that Kojiro let the tears he was holding back fall and brought the objects to be across from his face. The blood on the cloth of the headbands were so dry that no amount of washing could get it out and Akane's hair stick doesn't look that different except that the paint on the tip is a little scratched.

"They can't be dead." He muttered to himself bringing them to his chest again curling himself into a ball under the covers. He tried to wipe away the tears from his eyes, but they refuse to stop that he gave up and just let them fall. "Their bodies weren't found, so maybe they're still alive." He bit the bottom of his lip when he felt a sob struggling to get out. "But what if they are dead?" Kojiro may only have known them for five years, but they're still his parents, just the thought of them dying out there was enough to let the sob out.

"Kojiro?" Kojiro turned his body to face the door when he heard the familiar voice to see Noriko hesitantly open the door with a concerned look on her face. "Dinner's ready."

"Not hungry." Kojiro mumbled turning away so his back facing her. "Go away."

"Come on Kojiro, you haven't left this room or eaten anything for over a week now." Kojiro could hear the concern in her voice, but he just continued to ignore her. He heard footsteps and felt a hand gently stroked his head and couldn't help but look over to Noriko who pushed some of his hair behind my ear. "I'm sure your mom and dad are alive, there's no way they would die and leave you alone."

"But what if they are?" Kojiro replied sadly looking away from her bringing the headbands and hair stick closer to his chest to reassure himself they were still there. "Just because they didn't find bodies doesn't mean they aren't dead." He pushed Noriko's hand off his head and brought the blanket to cover his head. "Just leave me alone."

"Kojiro, don't be like that." Noriko said gently reaching to remove the blanket from the five year old's head.

"I said leave me alone!" Kojiro shouted as blue spikes burst around him and Noriko had to jump back to avoid being pierced.

"Kojiro." Noriko muttered in astonishment as the spikes surrounding the five year old shattered and vanished like they weren't even there. It was then she noticed that the blanket on top of Kojiro was shaking and she heard was sounded like a sob. Shaking off her surprise, she silently approached and removed the blanket to see tears falling down the boy's face. She gently lifted the boy up who dropped the headbands and hair stick bringing him closer to her in a hug being careful not to smother him with her breasts and gently rubbed his back resting his head on her chest so he can hear her heartbeat. "It's going to be okay Kojiro. If your mom and dad love you as much as I think they do, then they'll definitely be back." She loosened her grip on the boy enough for him to back away slightly to look up to her warm smiling face and she placed a hand on his cheek. "And when they do, welcome them back with a big smile. Okay?"

Kojiro just looked at Noriko's smiling face and couldn't help but think about his mother's smile and thought back to when he was a baby where she would hum a soft lullaby so he would fall asleep. Kojiro felt his eyes start to water before wiping the tears away before giving a small smile to Noriko. "Okay." It was then that they both heard a rumbling sound and Kojiro blushed when he realized what made the sound.

Noriko laughed before letting Kojiro go and standing up. "Sounds like someone's appetite is back." She walked over to the door stopping when she opened it and looked back to Kojiro. "I'll go warm up your dinner and you come eat when you're ready." She then left closing the door.

' _I must've really worried them._ ' Kojiro thought feeling bad for making them worry the past week. He picked up his parents' headbands and Akane's hair stick and started placing them in his backpack. He paused when he was putting the hair stick away and brought it closer to get a better look at it. On the end was a blue lotus with green vines wrapped around the stick itself. ' _Strange, aren't lotus flowers usually pink and pale white? Were they going for uniqueness when they made it?_ ' Kojiro placed the hair stick next to his hairband by his futon and looked to the window to see his reflection to see that his hair was down reaching to his shoulder blade and was a huge mess. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a comb and started to straighten his hair and gathering it into a ponytail reaching for the hairband by the futon when his eyes landed on Akane's hair stick and had a thoughtful look.

* * *

Kojiro P.O.V.

"You sure you're alright now Kojiro?" Noriko asked me with uncertainty as she stood outside of Mrs. Shinomiya's front door resting her hands on her knees to look me in the eye. "I can stay longer."

I just shook my head and gave her a smile. "I'm fine now Noriko!" And I was, after the hug and the words Noriko gave me, I decided that I've cried enough and that I shouldn't think that my parents were dead just because only their headbands and my mother's hair stick came back. ' _Until I see proof that their actually dead, I'll believe they're still out there somewhere._ '

"Besides, you can't hold off on your missions any longer than you have already Noriko." Mrs. Shinomiya pointed out.

"Yeah, you got a point." Noriko admitted rubbing the back of her head before kneeling down to me giving me a playful wink. "Take care of yourself Kojiro, no unhappy thoughts or I'll have to cheer you up again." She noticed that my hair was back to it's usual spiky ponytail, but I was wearing my mother's hair stick at the base in a diagonal position being held in place by my hairband. "Kojiro, is that your mom's hair stick?" I nodded with a small smile, my right hand reaching to lightly touch the blue lotus on the end as if it would dissolve if I wasn't careful. She gave me a warm smile. "Then you better take care of it then, kay?"

"Kay!" I replied grinning.

"Now there's the grin I know so well." Noriko nodded in approval as she straightened herself looking to Mrs. Shinomiya. "Well, I better be off now."

"Of course." Mrs. Shinomiya nodded. "Rest assured that Kojiro's in good hands with me."

"I know he is." Noriko said smiling as she turned and started to leave.

"Bye-bye Noriko!" I called out waving to her as she waved back.

"Let's go back inside Kojiro." Mrs. Shinomiya said as she opened the door.

"Coming!" I followed Mrs. Shinomiya back into the house and through the engawa picking up me pace so I could be next to her. We walked in silence as I looked to the side to watch the last of the cherry blossom petals fall into the white sand of the zen garden. We walked into the sitting room where I took the cushion that was across from the shoji doors. I reached to the plate of senbei that was next to a pot of tea on the table and ate it quietly.

"It looks like you're feeling better Kojiro." Mrs. Shinomiya took the cushion to my left placing a cup in front of me and reached for the pot and poured some in my cup before pouring some in her own cup. I looked to her to see she had a relieved smile. "That's good, I was so worried when you wouldn't leave your room."

I swallowed and looked down with a glum look on my face. "I'm sorry for worrying you Mrs. Shinomiya."

"It's okay Kojiro, you don't have to apologize." Mrs. Shinomiya said as she took a senbei for herself. "I'm just glad that your finally out of that room." She was about to eat her senbei but paused and had a thoughtful look on her face before looking to me as I took another bite of my senbei. "By the way Kojiro, have you been practicing chakra control recently?"

I choked on the mouthful of senbei I was about to swallow at Mrs. Shinomiya sudden question and pounded my chest before reaching for my cup and gulped down my tea to wash it down. Mrs. Shinomiya patted my back as I put my cup back on the table and I gave her a surprised look. "W-what would make you ask that?"

Mrs. Shinomiya just chuckled and removed her hand from my back to reach into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a familiar looking leaf that was burnt around the edges and damp in the middle with the stem dry and brown. "I found this while walking down the engawa a few days ago." I just stared with wide eyes as she placed the leaf on the table. "Did your parents taught you this?"

I didn't answer right away as I looked down to my cup to stare at my reflection. "No, they didn't teach me."

"Then who did?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked as she looked to the leaf.

"No one taught me." I mumbled fidgeting nervously as my gaze moved from my reflection to the leaf.

"You mean you were teaching yourself?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked in surprise and I just nodded my head. When she got over her surprise she giggled causing me to look to her in confusion. "You really are a smart boy if you're already teaching yourself chakra control." She picked up the leaf to inspect it closely. "But I can tell that your chakra is unstable just by looking at this leaf."

"Unstable?" I asked tilting my head to the side in confusion.

"Yes." Mrs. Shinomiya nodded putting the leaf down to look me in the eye. "If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that you aren't doing the exercise properly. That's probably why the leaf always end up like this."

"But I am doing it properly!" I complained resting my chin on the table.

"You are?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked as she refilled my cup with a thoughtful look on her face. "Kojiro, is it alright if I show this leaf to a friend of mine?"

"Why?" I asked wondering why she wanted to show a leaf to a friend.

"He's an instructor at the academy." Mrs. Shinomiya explained. "He might know why the leaf always end up like this." She gestured to the leaf lying on the table. "But if you want to keep this a secret then I understand."

"No, no, it's okay!" I said quickly after hearing her reason. "You can show him, I want to know why this happens!"

"Alright, I'll ask him when I next see him." Mrs. Shinomiya said as she took the leaf and stuffed it into her sleeve before giving me a smile. "Are you practicing for the academy Kojiro?"

"Yeah!" I knew I had an excited smile on my face at the thought of going to a place that teaches you how to be a ninja. "I'm going to learn a lot of cool jutsu and show mama and papa when they come back!"

Mrs. Shinomiya nodded to that chuckling as she took a sip of her tea. "So Kojiro, do you have a dream?"

"A dream?" I asked in confusion taking another senbei to eat.

Mrs. Shinomiya nodded. "Everyone has a dream to chase. Even your parents had a dream."

"What were they?" I asked curiously as I never heard them talk about their dreams when they're both at home.

"Your mother's dream was to a great medical ninja like Tsunade of the leaf villages Sannin." Mrs. Shinomiya replied and my eyes widened at hearing the name of Tsunade. "As for your father, his dream was to one day wield one of the seven swords that our village is known for having and join the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist." She took another sip of her tea before looking me in the eye. "What is your dream for being a ninja Kojiro?"

"My dream?" I mumbled to myself as I looked down in thought staring at my reflection on the surface of my tea. ' _I know I want to be strong, but for what reason? There's no point in being strong if there's no reason to it, even Naruto had a reason for his dream to be Hokage._ ' I nibbled on my senbei as I continued to get lost in my thoughts. ' _I could go for being Mizukage, but that isn't a dream, that's just me copying Naruto's dream._ ' After I finished eating my senbei I reached for another as I replied to Mrs. Shinomiya's question. "I don't know what my dream is."

"That's quite alright dear." Mrs. Shinomiya said reassuringly placing a hand on my shoulder. "Not everyone has a dream right away, you must first find a reason to have a dream before you follow it. Don't let others decide things for you, follow your own path and I'm sure that you won't be lead astray." She got to her feet and walked to the shoji doors to the left of the room where the kitchen is and opened them. "It's almost lunch time, I'll prepare something for us." She closed the shoji doors leaving me to my thoughts.

"Follow my own path and I won't be lead astray." I quietly repeated Mrs. Shinomiya words as I thought carefully of what could she possibly mean when she said them. "What could she mean by following my own path?" I tightened my grip on my cup slightly staring at my reflection that stared back at me with lime green eyes. "Or was that just her fortune teller side speaking?" I sighed and got to my feet to leave the sitting room to sit on the engawa to look at the zen garden. I watched as the very last petal from the cherry blossom tree fall off its branch before slowly float down towards me by the wind and I held a hand out as the petal gently fell on it. I stared at the petal using a small amount of my chakra to keep it on the palm of my hand only for it to get damp before turning brown and dry and burst into flames. "Why is my chakra so unstable?" The wind blew the ashes off my hand and I watched the ashes do a little dance in the air before going over the wall and out of sight.

* * *

A Week Later

I sat in my room combing my hair to get rid of the tangles before tying it into my usual spiky ponytail and placing my mother's hair stick at the base supporting it with my hairband. I looked as my reflect in the window from every angle to see if I missed anywhere and nodded in satisfaction to see that I did my hair perfectly this time after seven tries. I left my room and walked down the engawa to enter the sitting room to see Mrs. Shinomiya was setting the table for breakfast.

"Pleas, let me do that Mrs. Shinomiya." I said taking the bowls and plates of food from her and started to set the table.

"Why thank you Kojiro." Mrs. Shinomiya said gratefully taking a seat at the table. "Such good manners, it's good to see Akane and Kosuke are raising you right."

"It's the least I can do after letting me stay here." I replied sitting down clapping my hands together. "Thank you for the food." I picked up my bowl of rice and chopsticks and started to eat. Mrs. Shinomiya did the same as me before eating her own food.

"Kojiro." I looked to Mrs. Shinomiya as I swallowed my mouthful of food. "Do you know what kind of ninja you want to be?"

"What kind?" I asked in confusion lowering my bowl.

Mrs. Shinomiya nodded. "I was thinking it would help you find your own dream if you knew what kind of ninja you want to be." She placed her bowl on the table and looked to me. "Do you want to be a medical ninja like your mother? Or do you want to be a hunter ninja? Try asking yourself that question and the answer will surely make itself known to you."

' _Is this wisdom of the elderly, or another of her fortunes?_ ' I thought in confusion as we continued to eat. ' _What kind of ninja do I want to be, that's a good question. A question I haven't even thought about since learning I did get reincarnated in Naruto._ ' I finished my food and put my bowl on my empty plate placing my chopsticks on it next to the bowl and carried them to the kitchen. ' _What ninja do I want to be, there are so many choices. There's becoming the Mizukage, but I already ruled that out._ ' I put my dishes in the sink and started to wash them as I continued to get lost in my thoughts. ' _I could try being a hunter ninja or a member of the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist._ ' After drying the dishes and putting them away, I ran my still wet hand through my hair in frustration. ' _Naruto had it easy choosing a dream! I don't know what the hell I want to be and he chooses to be Hokage like it was as easy as snapping your fingers!_ '

"There's no need to get frustrated Kojiro." Mrs. Shinomiya said as she entered the kitchen and placed her dishes in the sink. "You have plenty of time before you're old enough to attend the academy to decide what your dream is going to be."

"But I can't stop thinking about it!" I complained as I wash Mrs. Shinomiya's dishes.

"Tell me Kojiro, do you have a hobby?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked as she stood next to me holding the dish rag and started to dry the dishes I handed her. I nodded my head wondering what that question had to do with what kind of ninja I wanted to be. "What is your hobby Kojiro?"

"Learning about different medicinal herbs." I replied giving her a side glance. "Why do you ask Mrs. Shinomiya?"

"Do you enjoy it Kojiro?" Mrs. asked placing the now dry plate away completely ignoring my question. I gave her a confused look before nodding my head and she looked to me with a smile. "Then why not try to become a medical ninja?"

"A medical ninja?" I asked in surprise as I haven't even thought about that.

Mrs. Shinomiya nodded. "You enjoy learning about medicinal herbs, the same as your mother, and by being a medical ninja you can save many lives." She chuckled a little as she dried her hands with the dish rag before hanging it on a hook that was attached to the wall next to the sink. "But it's your choice Kojiro. Like I said yesterday, don't let others choose your path for you, it's a choice that you yourself has to make."

"A medical ninja." I mumbled to myself as I gave the idea some thought. ' _It's true that a medical ninja will be a great help if a teammate is injured. And I do love to research different herbs and how they can be used, but will I be any good at being a medical ninja? You need medical knowledge and excellent chakra control in order to be one, and with my unstable chakra, I'm not sure if I can do it._ ' I frowned at that thought as I dried my hands and decided to let my thoughts be known. "But my chakra..."

"Your chakra is indeed unstable." Mrs. Shinomiya nodded already knowing where I was going. "But if my friend can find the reason for why it is unstable, then being a medical ninja wouldn't be that impossible."

"Hey, Midori!" A loud voice called from the front.

"Oh, speak of the devil." Mrs. Shinomiya said as she walked to the sitting room. She looked back to me nodding her head telling me to follow which I did and we walked to the front of the house. Mrs. Shinomya, or rather Midori, opened the door and standing outside was a man in his eighties with grey hair and a bald spot on the top of his head. He was wearing a green kimono, white socks, and straw sandals. "Welcome Ryuji, I'm glad you could make it despite you being busy at the academy."

"I got curious about this kid you told me about." Ryuji said looking down to me. "I take it this is her?"

"Him." Midori corrected. "And yes." She looked down to me. "Kojiro, I would like to introduce you to Ryuji Yozakura. He's the instructor I told you about."

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Ryuji yelled looking from Midori to me and back before pointing at me. "You're telling me this brats a boy?!"

' _I don't like this guy already._ ' I thought my eyebrow twitching in annoyance at the fact I was mistaken for a girl again.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed reading the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now onto the reviews!**

 **Hayate Hyuga: Yeah, poor Kojiro. But what about my poor heart? It broke to pieces when I wrote that part. T_T**

 **Athan243: In a way. I was just doing some sketching and the idea for blue hair in a ponytail popped up. Fate/Stay Night may have helped me with the name though.**

 **SilverDragon1218: I know, don't remind me T_T! It killed me inside when I wrote that part! I'm glad to hear that you were on the edge of your seat, and that good sir/ma'am is music to my ears. Glad you loved their conversations.**

 **guest reader: You called it you say, and what exactly did you call? Only time will tell the fate of the Akatsuki.**

 **KitKedd: Don't remind me, I teared up when I was putting the finishing touches. And I'm making Kojiro Isobu's jinchuriki due to the votes from my poll to decide whether I should or not.**

 **Thank you all for taking time out of your possibly busy schedules to read this chapter and I look forward to seeing you all again next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Finally finished with the next chapter my dearly beloved readers! I apologize for the wait, but you know how it takes trial and error before you finally get a product you're satisfied with and I would like to give a big thank you to my friend who is a die hard Naruto fan who was kind enough to beta read this chapter for me. I would tell you their name, but they would like to remain anonymous for some reason. Anywho, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Lesson in Chakra

' _Is this old man really a ninja instructor?_ ' I thought as I stared at the older man sitting across from me with his arms crossed looking at me with a thoughtful look on his face in the sitting room while Mrs. Shinomiya was in the kitchen brewing some tea. ' _He's so old I bet even a nine year old with no prior training can kill him._ ' I saw his eyes narrowed and I started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. ' _Why is he staring at me like that?_ '

"Tell me kid." Ryuji said breaking the silence as he leaned forward a little resting his arms on the table until his face was inches from mine. "Are you really a boy?"

' _Ever heard of personal space old man?_ ' I thought in irritation at hearing he doubted my gender but didn't voice my thoughts choosing to nod my head instead. "Yes sir."

He just hummed eyeing me from top to bottom before backing away to sit properly. "Well, if you say so." He crossed his arms again giving me a serious look. "As you already know my name is Ryuji Yozakura and I'm an instructor at the academy. I mainly overlook the students' training in unlocking their chakra, teach them the history of the ninja world, and how to properly handle kunai and shuriken." He then nodded to me. "Now it's your turn, introduce yourself."

"Introduce myself?" I asked before shrugging. "Okay, my name is Kojiro Kurosawa, nice to me-"

"NOOO!" Ryuji suddenly shouted getting in my face startling me by how loud his shout was that I recoiled back losing my balance and fell to the floor. "What I meant by introducing yourself is that you say your name along with your likes and dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future!" He then took a deep breath before sitting up straight again and gestured to me. "Now try again."

' _What is with this guy?_ ' I thought rubbing the back of my head to feel a small bump form from when I hit the floor by the old man's shouting as I sat back up. "My name is Kojiro Kurosawa, I like curry and senbei." I frowned a bit as I continued. "I don't like always being mistaken for a girl and close minded people." Ryuji raised an eyebrow but I didn't notice as I broke into a smile. "My hobby is learning about different herbs and their uses."

Ryuji nodded in approval. "And your dreams for the future young man?

"I don't know yet." I replied looking down in thought. "I think I want to be a medical ninja but..." I look at my hands as I closed them into fists and opened them again. "I don't think I can."

"Does this have anything to do with the favor Midori called me here for?" Ryuji inquired as Mrs. Shinomiya walked into the living room carrying a tray with three cups and a kettle.

"That's right Ryuji." Mrs. Shinomiya replied before I could open my mouth placing the tray on the table. "Kojiro's chakra is unstable for some unknown reason. It would be better to show you than try to explain." She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a leaf and handed it to me. "Here Kojiro, please show Ryuji your problem."

"Okay." I took the leaf and placed it on my forehead before taking a deep breath and focusing my chakra to the leaf to have it stick to my forehead. I slowly let go of the stem and I watched how Ryuji had his gaze on the leaf with a speculative look in his eyes. After a few minutes, I started to smell something burning before the leaf fell off my forehead and onto the table for me to see that it was damp with the edge burned and the stem brown. I looked up to Ryuji to see his eyes were narrowed and his arms crossed which made me a bit nervous. ' _Does he know what's wrong with me?_ '

"Before I tell you what's wrong, I would like to ask something." Ryuji said looking to me making me stiffen a little. "Kojiro, how long have you been practicing this exercise?"

' _How long? What does that have to do with anything?_ ' I thought in confusion but I thought about it before answering. "About two weeks I think. I stopped after I..." I paused and looked down to my hands that were resting on my lap biting my lower lip. "After I learned of mama and papa's disappearance."

"I see." Ryuji nodded uncrossing his arms thinking it would be a good idea to get back on subject and picked up the leaf. "My best guess for why your chakra does this to the leaf is because you are unconsciously splitting it."

"What do you mean Ryuji?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked in confusion.

"As both of you know, chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energies." Ryuji explained getting a nodded from me and Mrs. Shinomiya before continuing placing the leaf back on the table. "Physical energy comes from every cell in the human body and can be increased when you train or exercise. Spiritual energy comes from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through experience, meditation, and studying. After mixing the two energies together you get chakra."

"What does all that have to do with why my chakra is unstable?" I asked in confusion trying to figure out how learning about how chakra is formed has anything to do with why it's unstable.

"I'm getting to that." Ryuji said patiently. "Now this is normally not taught genin, but I'll have to tell you in order for me to further explain why your chakra splits." He reached into the folds of his kimono and pulled out a scroll, a bottle of ink, and a brush. He laid the scroll on the table and unfurled it before taking the stopper off the ink bottle and dipping the brush inside. "There are five basic natures in chakra that ninja are capable of using." He took the brush out of the bottle letting the excess ink to drip back into the bottle before writing in the scroll showing five kanji in a circular form. "Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water." He started to draw arrows starting from the fire kanji to the wind and so on until it formed a circle. "Every nature is naturally weaker than and stronger than another. Fire is stronger than wind, wind is stronger than lightning and so on. Every ninja has an affinity for one of the five chakra natures which means that they have an easier time molding their chakra into that nature."

"So what your saying is that it's Kojiro's chakra nature that's doing this to the leaf?" Mrs. Shinhomiya asked looking down to the leaf.

"You're partially right Midori." Ryuji replied looking to Mrs. Shinomiya. "Yes it's his chakra that's doing it, but it's not one nature that's the cause of all that's happening to this leaf." He looked to me. "Young Kojiro here doesn't have one chakra nature, but three." Both Mrs. Shinomiya and I looked at him in shock as he picked up the leaf to examine it again. "Just by looking at this leaf I can see that Kojiro has water, fire, and earth chakra natures with water being his affinity."

"I-I have three natures?" I asked in shock, my eyes focused on the leaf. ' _And he figured all this out just by watching me do the exercise?! I judged him too quickly._ '

"Yes." Ryuji nodded twirling the leaf. "And it's because you have three that you keep unconsciously splitting your chakra to use all three instead of having the leaf stick to your forehead." He sighed placing the leaf down before crossing his arms. "It also explains why your chakra is unstable, if you can learn to not split your chakra then chakra control exercises will no longer be a problem." He hummed in thought before looking to me. "Kojiro, I want you to close your eyes and picture your chakra being a blue flame."

"Why?" I asked tilting my head to the side in confusion.

"Just do it kid." Ryuji ordered. "I want to try something." I continued to give him a confused stare doing what he asked and closed my eyes. "Take deep, even breathes and clear your mind of all distracting thoughts. Picture a bright blue flame and nothing else." I did as instructed and started to take deep breathes as I try to picture my chakra being a bright blue flame. After a few minutes have past, I was finally able to create a blue flame in my mind. "When you succeed, try to maintain that single flame for as long as you can." I nodded showing that I heard him and struggled to maintain the flames form.

The flame flickered for a moment before feeling it starting to split and I struggled to keep it from separating but couldn't hold it as the flame split into three different colored flames. The flame on the left was red, the right flame was brown, and the flame in the middle was bigger than the other two and was still blue before I lost my focus and my eyes shot open breathing hard.

"Not even a minute." I heard Ryuji mutter and I looked up to him to see that he had a contemplative look on his face. "This is going more difficult than I thought."

"Do you think you can help him Ryuji?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked giving me a concerned look taking out a handkerchief and scooted over to me to wipe away the sweat on my face.

"I'm not sure right now Midori." Ryuji replied with uncertainty in his voice. "You weren't kidding about his chakra being unstable if he couldn't keep it from splitting for at least ten minutes." He crossed his arms looking down in thought. "I've never had to deal with someone so young that already has three chakra natures." He then looked up to Mrs. Shinomiya. "The only advice I can give right now is to have him not practice his chakra control until he enters the academy before I even think of allowing him to try again."

* * *

Two months has past since Ryuji paid us a visit and told me not to practice the leaf exercise until he thinks I'm ready to try again. Since I couldn't practice my chakra control, I decided to use my time to study to be a medical ninja so I would be ready when I do practice again. After a week I got bored of just studying and decided that when I finish studying for a few hours, I would at least give the leaf exercise a try only to get the same results I always get when I do the exercise. Ryuji comes by to visit every now and then to stop me when he catches me trying to practice my chakra control and give me lectures about patience being a virtue and let's just say he's not quiet with his lectures.

' _I swear I'm going to go deaf if he keeps lecturing me._ ' I thought as I sat in front of Ryuji who was giving me another long and loud lecture since he caught me trying to do the leaf exercise again. ' _It was only for a few minutes, what's so wrong about that?_ '

"How many times do I have to tell you not to practice your chakra control before it finally gets through that thick skull of yours?!" Ryuji shouted causing me to cringe at the volume. He let out a frustrated sigh rubbing his forehead to ease a coming headache. "Kids these days, never listening to their elders and recklessly doing whatever they please without thinking of the consequences."

"Consequences?" I asked in confusion. ' _What does he mean by that?_ '

"There's a reason why I told you not to practice your chakra control." Ryuji said as he lowered his arm giving me a stern look that says clear as day that he's not messing around. "I'm not going to sugarcoat anything and I'm only saying this once so listen up brat. If you keep practicing your chakra control while it is still unstable, you might end up killing yourself one of these days." My eyes widened at that but he continued not giving me a chance to say anything. "If you continue to practice your chakra control while it's still unstable, then one of your three chakra natures will go wild and out of control. Let's say your fire chakra nature for instance." I flinched at the thought of my chakra going out of control. "Like how the leaf village's second Hokage who can use water jutsu without an outside source, your chakra would mold itself into the fire nature and burn whatever it touches, like this house for example, and burn it and everything nearby to the ground killing yourself and everyone that was unfortunate enough to be nearby."

' _I could kill people by accident?_ ' I had a look of horror on my face at the thought of a burning building with people inside screaming as the flames engulfed them and I would be the cause of it. ' _All because I was doing chakra control exercises?_ ' My body shook when images of Mrs. Shinomiya and Noriko burning to death in front of me popped in my head and my hand found it's way over my mouth when I felt something crawling up my throat. ' _Oh god, I'm going to be sick._ '

"Now do you see why it's dangerous for you to practice chakra control right now?" Ryuji asked rhetorically getting my attention. "This is why I want you to wait until you enroll in the academy before you start practicing chakra control again. That way if you still have trouble with your chakra, then at least there will be instructors nearby to limit the damage done and maybe help you get your chakra under control." I removed my hand from my mouth and opened it to speak but he gave me a look that stopped me from getting a word out. "This isn't up for debate young man."

"Did you really have to say all that Ryuji?" Mrs. Shinomiya asked as she walked into the sitting room giving Ryuji a disapproving look. "He's still only a child."

"He may be a child, but sooner or later he needs to understand the consequences of his actions Midori." Ryuji replied not taking his eyes off me. "I gave him two months to let my warnings sink in but since that wasn't working he left me with no other choice but to tell him what he has been doing to himself."

I looked up from my hand to Ryuji giving him a curious stare. "What I've been doing to myself?"

Ryuji sighed before reaching into his sleeve and pulled out a dull and rusty kunai that had cracks that went from the handle to the tip before throwing it where it embedded itself on the floor in front of me. "Kojiro, let's say this old kunai is an injured shinobi and you tried to heal him while your chakra is still unstable, what do you think will happen?" I shuddered when a myriad of gruesome thoughts from burning them alive to filling their bodies with water until they burst came to mind. "You unlocked your chakra at the age of five which is rare, but it's even rarer for someone your age to already have a chakra nature let alone three. It's because of this that your chakra's unstable since your three chakra natures fight for dominance when you do the leaf exercise thus making it even more unstable."

"So what you're saying is that I'm making things worse just by practicing chakra control?" I asked as realization dawned on me when I thought back to when I was doing the leaf exercise earlier before Ryuji stopped me. ' _Now that I think about it, the leaf did suddenly burst into flames the first try then crumbled to dust on the second and on the third it just got so wet that water was running down my face._ '

"Now you're catching on." Ryuji's voice forced me out of my thoughts and I saw him nodding his head in satisfaction. "You're not giving your chakra enough time to settle in your chakra network." He gave me a stern glare that made me squirm where I was sitting when I only just now realized what I was doing to myself. "So there will be no more chakra control exercises until I say so, am I understood?"

"Yes sir." I lowered my gaze to my shaking hands that I clenched into fists were gripping tightly on the cloth of my kimono to try and stop the shaking to no avail. ' _I can't stop shaking. All this time I was making things worse without realizing it?_ ' I shut my eyes tightly trying to will away all the gruesome thoughts and Ryuji's words in my head. ' _I'm such an idiot!_ '

I felt something touch my hands and opened my eyes to see a pair of wrinkled hands holding my small ones in them. I looked to the side to see it was Mrs. Shinomiya holding my hands giving me a warm smile. "It's okay Kojiro, you didn't know." She then looked over to Ryuji. "Isn't there any way you can help him Ryuji? I can see from the way Kojiro studies everyday that he really wants to be a medical ninja."

Ryuji crossed his arms closing his eyes as he hummed in thought. "Like I said two months ago, I've never dealt with someone like Kojiro before. If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't even know if it's possible for his chakra to be stable enough to become a ninja let alone a medical ninja." He opened his eyes and reached into his sleeve pulling out a scroll which confused me. "I'll discuss this with the other academy instructors and see if we can find a solution about his chakra problem." He unfurled the scroll across the floor that had the kanji for weapon surrounded by other kanji that I can't even read before slamming his hand on it and in a puff of smoke were five wooden kunai and shuriken. "For now just practice your aim with these if you're dead set on being a ninja."

"I can really have these?" I asked in astonishment as I looked at the wooden kunai and shuriken.

"Of course." Ryuji nodded pushing the wooden weapons closer so they were in my reach. "Why else would I bring them other than to give them to you?" He then smirked. "After all, they're meant as a present."

"Huh?" I looked up from the wooden weapons to give Ryuji a confused look.

I heard Mrs. Shinomiya giggle and turned to her to see she had her hand over her mouth. "Don't you remember what day it is Kojiro?" I continued to give the two elderly people a confused look as Mrs. Shinomiya stood up and walked into the kitchen. When she came out I gasped when I saw that she was holding a cake with six lit candles and when she placed it in front of me on the table I saw that it said 'Happy Birthday Kojiro' on it in white icing. It was then that I remembered the date, it was April 7th, the day I was born in this new life. "Happy birthday Kojiro."

I looked to both Mrs. Shinomiya and Ryuji to see that they were both smiling, Ryuji's was actually a grin, and I could feel a smile working its way across my face too. ' _How could I forget my own birthday?_ ' I looked back to the cake to see that it was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

"Well, are you going to make a wish?" I looked back to Ryuji who was gesturing to the cake.

' _I'm normally a person that doesn't believe in this kind of thing but..._ ' I looked back to the cake staring at the candles just waiting to be blown out. ' _I_ _f I could have one wish, I guess it would be that mom and dad come home soon._ ' I took a deep breath before blowing extinguishing all six candles.

"Happy birthday Kojiro!" Mrs. Shinomiya and Ryuji said at the same time clapping. Mrs. Shinomiya removed the candles from the cake and went inside the kitchen coming back with a knife, forks, and plates. She cut the cake placing a piece on each of the plates and handed two of them to me and Ryuji.

I was about to start eating my piece when Mrs. Shinomiya stopped me before reaching into the folds of her kimono and pulled out a rectangular box with a blue ribbon tied in a bow around it. "This is my present for you Kojiro." She handed it to me and I took it undoing the bow before lifting the lid to see what was inside. What I saw was a scroll and when I took it out of the box to unfurl it to see what was written inside. I had a big smile on my face when I saw that it was about different medicinal herbs I've never seen before and their uses on injuries and illnesses. "I'm sure you don't know about those herbs yet so I got that for you."

I couldn't contain my excitement and gave her a big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Ryuji chuckled at my excitement. "The kid must really love herbs to get that excited."

* * *

I sat on my futon reading my new scroll for the fifth time not wanting to put it down yet. After having cake and having fun until the sun was starting to set, Ryuji told me one last time not to practice my chakra control before leaving.

' _I learned my lesson this time._ ' I thought as I continued to read the scroll. ' _Now that I know what I was doing, I'm willing to be patient for a while._ ' I furled the scroll and placed it by my futon before crawling under my blanket resting my head on my pillow looking up at the ceiling. "Who knew there were so many kinds of herbs in the world?" I turned my head to the side to look out the window to stare at the full moon illuminating the night sky. ' _It was a full moon back then too._ ' I thought back to my first birthday to how my parents were frantically running around the house blowing up balloons and putting up streamers. My mother humming in the kitchen while making cake batter that soon turned to cries of help when she accidentally spilled the entire bag of flour in the mixing bowl. My father standing on a ladder trying to hang a banner that said 'Happy Birthday!' only to lose his footing on the ladder and fall flat on his face taking the banner with him. In the end, we spent my first birthday moon watching. I had a nostalgic smile thinking about my time with them and closed my eyes to get some sleep before I felt hand over my nose and mouth and my eyes shot open in panic to see something red before my consciousness faded to black.

* * *

 **And now, it's time for me to reply to your reviews.**

 **SilverDragon1218: That it is. I'm happy too. I was originally planning that, but then it suddenly ended up like this without me realizing it. And I can't wait to read your future reviews and have a nice day.**

 **tosca: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I thank you for reviewing and I look forward to read your thoughts on future chapters.**

 **Sterr: Thank you for catching that and rest assured I fixed that mistake.**

 **Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf: Uh oh indeed. You can't blame him for not liking Ryuji right off the bat since he was mistaken for a girl again. Like with SilverDragon, I was originally planning that, but without realizing it I ended up writing it like this.**

 **guest reader: Glad you like the idea of Kojiro being a medical ninja and I do remember Haku using herbs to heal Zabuza. Only time will tell the fate of the Akatsuki.**

 **CriticalFanatic: Glad you're satisfied and I look forward to reading your future reviews.**

 **With that I bid you adieu until we next meet.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight is here my readers!XD I'll tell you this one was the epitome of hard and I accidentally deleted it and had to start all over T_T. I should probably start the chapter before I start rambling so I won't delay it any further. Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, please take your seats for the next act of this fanfic is about to begin!**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Good-Bye Land of Water

3rd P.O.V.

Inside a dark cave, Zetsu stood before the giant statue as a spiraling void formed and the man wearing the orange spiral mask came out holding an unconscious Kojiro under his arm. The man dropped Kojiro and walked over to Zetsu. "Is this the boy you were talking about Zetsu?"

" **That's** **him.** " Black Zetsu confirmed with a nod. " **Now that he's closer, I can tell without a doubt that his chakra's unstable. But I still can't figure out why it seems human but not human at the same time.** "

"What do you have planned for him?" White Zetsu asked looking to the blue haired boy. "With his chakra the way it is, the only good he will be is as a sacrifice for the impersonation jutsu."

"We'll take advantage of that unstable chakra." The masked man replied turning back to Kojiro. "If we add foreign chakra to his already unstable chakra network, then there will be a chance he'll go wild and destroy everything in sight."

" **I see, so you plan to do _that_ to the child.**" Black Zetsu said understanding in his tone. " **If it works, then we'll have one less village to worry about getting in our way.** "

"It will be interesting to say the least." White Zetsu snickered. "I can't wait to see what kind of destruction this kid can cause!"

"Let's begin." The masked man weaved though numerous hand signs as the giant statue opened it's mouth and out came blue chakra that took the form of a dragon that enveloped Kojiro lifting him up in the air. The man clapped his hands together as red chakra started to leave the statue's mouth as well making it's way to the unconscious blue haired boy. The chakra went into Kojiro's mouth as he moaned in discomfort at the foreign substance going down his throat and into his body. "When he finishes what I have planned for him I'll extract it from him."

" **That is of course _if_ this kid does go berserk.**" Black Zetsu pointed out as he watched the red chakra force itself down the six year old's throat.

"I think I know something that'll guarantee him losing it." White Zetsu said with a grin looking up to Kojiro.

* * *

Kojiro P.O.V.

' _I can't move._ ' Was the only coherent thought I could manage as I tried to make my arms and legs move only to feel pain shoot up them which made me remember the pain of being hit dead-on by an ambulance. I struggled to open my eyes but I couldn't see anything but darkness no matter which way I turned my head to scan my surroundings. ' _F_ _eels like I'm floating along a river._ _Does that mean I'm dead again?_ ' the sound of something big surfacing from water reached my ears and when I looked up I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a large turtle, but with a crab-like shell, spikes all over its body, and three shrimp-like tails. Under its shell, it has red, muscle-like tissue. It has a pair of human-like arms and hands, but no hind legs. its face is concealed between a large forehead and lower jaw, both of which have spikes. Its right eyes was closed, but I could see its left eye to see it was red with a yellow pupil. ' _Isobu?!_ ' My eyes widened in shock at seeing the three tailed turtle looking down at me. ' _What the hell's Isobu doing here, wherever here is?! What's going on?!_ '

"Who are you?" Isobu asked in a timid manner making me remember his profile from the Naruto wiki in my past life. Not knowing what else to do, I decided to answer the giant turtlre's question.

"I'm Kojiro." I replied politely struggling to at least sit up, but pain shot through my body again so I just stayed in a laying position looking up to the giant turtle as I floated along. "Can I ask you for your name?" Isobu just continued to look down to me as I waited patiently for his response. I can see the contemplative look in Isobu's eye and I understood right away that he's trying to determine if I'm trustworthy so I remained silent and left him to his thoughts as I got lost in my own. ' _The last thing I remember is laying in my futon about to go to sleep when I felt a hand being clasped over my mouth and when I opened my eyes I saw something red before passing out._ ' Realization dawned on me when I remembered something red that can make people pass out. ' _Genjutsu! And not just any genjutsu, but a genjutsu from a Sharingan!_ '

"My name is Isobu." Isobu's timid voice forced me out of my thoughts as I looked up at the giant three tailed turtle. "But why do you ask for my name?"

"Because you asked who I was." I replied giving him a friendly smile from where I was laying. "It was only fair I did the same, right?"

Isobu began to half submerged himself until his one open eye were at the same level as my body. I turned my head to the side so I was looking Isobu in the eye and we both didn't say a word to each other. I was about to say something when I was suddenly pulled down and I unconsciously held my breath as I looked down to see what was dragging me down and I immediately regretted it when I saw a scaly hand gripping one of my legs dragging me down. I followed the hand to see it was connected to an equally scaly arm of a humanoid silhouette.

' _What the hell is that thing?!_ ' I thought eyes wide in panic as I tried to shake my leg free but the creature just tightened it's grip. The creature turned its head back to me and the sight of a pair of glowing yellow eyes wasn't helping the panic attack I was having right now as I doubled my effort to get free. ' _Let go! Let me go!_ ' I tried using my other leg to kick myself free but the creature wouldn't let go no matter how much I struggled. My lungs felt like they were on fire and held my hands over my mouth trying to keep the air in. ' _Can't... breathe... can't... hold it._ ' I shut my eyes as the air I was holding forced itself out of my mouth that was quickly filled with water. ' _I'm going to die!_ '

* * *

My eyes shot open and I quickly sat up breathing hard drenched in cold sweat. ' _A dream?_ ' I looked around and sighed in relief to see I was in my room at Mrs. Shinomiya's house and placed a hand over my chest as I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. ' _Thank god, it was just a nightmare._ '

"I bet you think that it was all a bad dream, don't you?" I jumped at the sudden voice and looked up to see what looked like a Venus Flytrap growing on the ceiling before it opened for me to see a man with green hair and yellow eyes whose body was completely black on the right half and white on the left half. "I assure you it wasn't."

"Demon aloe plant!" I couldn't help but blurt out as I backed away from the man until my back hit the wall. "What's a demon aloe plant doing in my room?!"

" **That was an unexpected reaction.** " The black half commented while the white half snickered as they split apart.

"First of all, we aren't a demon aloe plant." The white half said as they detached from the ceiling and flipped to land on their feet. "Secondly, this isn't your room."

"W-what are you talking about?" I stuttered out as I looked around my room only to watch it shatter and in its place was a dark cave. My eyes widened in shock and my body shook at the sight of a giant, earthen-colored humanoid entity with a decayed appearance, a body shaped into a robe, and a number of spike-like protrusions on its back with nine eyes and shackled arms and legs. ' _The Gedo Statue?!_ '

The sound of snickering forced me to tear my gaze away from the Gedo Statue back to the plant man. "Oh look, he's scared."

" **He should be.** " The black half said as they slowly approach me. " **It would make our task easier if he is scared.** "

"W-what t-task?" I asked anxiously afraid of what they're planning. "W-What d-do you want with me?"

" **We know about that unstable chakra of yours.** " Black Zetsu replied to my shock at the knowledge of them watching me. " **W** **e want you use it.** "

' _Why does Zetsu want me to use my chakra?_ ' I thought as I tried to stop my body from shaking. ' _This is definitely different from watching everything from a screen or reading from a manga!_ ' I looked around the room to find an escape route but couldn't find one. ' _I need to find a way out of here!_ '

"Is something wrong kiddo?" My eyes widened in shock at the familiar voice and looked back to Zetsu to see that in his place was a man with short blue hair with his bangs to the sides framing his face and brown eyes wearing the mist ninja headband, a blue long sleeved shirt under a flak jacket, and black pants grinning down to me. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I couldn't believe my eyes that started to water at the person in Zetsu's place. Standing in front of me was my father, Kosuke Kurosawa, the man that went missing with my mother. "Pa-papa?" Without me knowing, I was reaching out to the man before his form changed back to Zetsu. "No." My outstretched hand quivered as my head shook in denial. "They can't be..."

White Zetsu started to laugh at the devastated look on my face. "That's right, although they didn't make it easy for us!" Tears ran down my face when Zestu started to change form again into a beautiful woman with long silky smooth auburn hair and lime green eyes the same shade as mine wearing a black shirt under a flak jacket and black pants. "No wonder they were called the mist's strongest combo of their generation."

"You're lying." I managed to say quietly as Zetsu returned to normal. I couldn't stop my body from shaking at the thought of their words being true and my parents are truely dead. "It's just a trick."

" **If you want proof of our words being true, then look over there.** " Black Zetsu said pointing to one part of the cave and I followed his finger to look where he was pointing to see two figures laying on the ground. My body felt numb when I recognized who the two figures laying on the ground were and I didn't want to believe what my eyes were seeing.

"Ma-mama, papa." Laying dead on the ground in a pool of their own blood with green spikes piercing their backs were my parents, Kosuke and Akane Kurosawa. I got to my feet and slowly walked past Zetsu towards the bodies of my parents. ' _They can't be dead. It's another genjutsu, it has to be._ ' When I reached the bodies, I fell to my knees and reached out to them to feel their cold skin against my warm fingers. The tears running down my face wouldn't stop when the revelation that this wasn't a genjutsu hit me. I didn't know when I started, but my anguished screams echoed off the cave walls and my body felt like it was on fire.

* * *

3rd P.O.V.

Both Black and White watched in fascination as the ground around the screaming Kojiro started to make cracks filled with boiling water and the steam melted any nearby stalagmite. The melted stalagmite began to become molten hot lava surrounding Kojiro and his dead parents as the six year old continued to scream in anguish, his tears evaporating into steam the moment they hit the molten hot ground.

"See, I told you this would set him off." White Zetsu said as the lava and steam continued to circle around the blue haired boy.

" **That may be the case.** " Black Zetsu said taking a step forward only to back away when the steam suddenly began to expand before going back to circling around Kojiro. " **But we can't get close to him without getting melted in the process.** "

"It's because of his unstable chakra." Both Zetsu's looked behind them to see the masked man appearing in a spiraling void. "With the revelation that his parents are dead, the boy is unconsciously tapping into his chakra making more unstable and out of control." He took a step forward and the steam expanded again only for the man to walk through unfazed by it. "Now that's he's out of control, it's time for him to use that unstable chakra." When he reached Kojiro he reached for the boy's shoulder when a blue glass-like spike erupted from the ground seemingly piercing the masked man in the chest. "Oh, this boy is full of surprises." He gripped Kojiro's shoulder forcing the boy to turn around and look him in the eye. The moment Kojiro looked into the eye hole of the mask his expression went blank and the steam began to dissipate and the spike shattered.

"Is it safe now?" White Zetsu asked from the far end of the cave.

" **Obviously considering the lack of acidic steam.** " Black Zetsu replied and the two got closer to the masked man and Kojiro. " **I take it the boy's under your genjutsu now?** "

"For now." The masked man replied looking down to Kojiro. "It was a bit difficult with his unstable chakra, but he should be under control long enough for what we have planned for him." He made a ram hand sign and an opening formed before looking down to Kojiro. "Go and destroy the hidden mist village, leave no survivors." The boy nodded numbly before walking towards the opening and exiting the cave.

"I knew that would work." White Zetsu snickered looking towards Akane and Kosuke's bodies. "No child can keep their emotions in check after seeing the dead bodies of their parents."

" **It still annoys me that it took longer than we expected to kill them** **.** " Black Zetsu commented before looking to the masked man. " **What will you do if he breaks free of your genjutsu?** "

"If he does then I'll kill him." The masked man replied as the opening closed and he walked over to the giant statue. "All we need is for him to use his unstable chakra along with what we gave him to destroy the mist village. And when that's done we'll extract it and move along to our other plans."

"I guess I better send one over then." White Zetsu said as he made another copy of himself that began to change its form to a short boy with short, messy, grey hair, which fell over the right side of his face and spiked up on the left. He also had pink, pupiless eyes and what seemed to be a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye, all the way down his cheek. His attire included a grey, sleeveless shirt with the mist forehead protector attached to the front, as well as a short-sleeved mesh armor, which he wore a green poncho. He also wore a turquoise sash around his waist, paired with a matching green apron over his pants and a pair of brown boots. Along with it, he is carrying a club with uneven sized hooks, which bared a green flower on the larger end on his back. "A village would need their ' _Kage_ ' should it be attacked after all."

Kojiro walked through the fog stumbling when he tripped on exposed tree roots but continued to walk with a blank expression on his face. Growling could be heard as a pack of wolves surrounded Kojiro with a hungry look in their eyes. Kojiro stopped walking not the least bit fazed by the sight of the wolves that were walking circles around him waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

* * *

In another part of the forest, three figures jumped through the tree branches. The figure on the right was a middle aged man with blue hair which is styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye was blue and his right eye was covered with an eye-patch. He wore a talisman in each ear with the kanji for a humble form of "to hear" written on them twice on each side. He is wearing a striped, grey suit, with a green haori that had white trimmings that stop halfway down, over them.

The figure on the left was a man with short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes and pointed teeth. He wears square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt and camouflage pattern pants. He wears his forehead protector on the front of his holster and on his back was a wide, flat blade with two curved indentations near its base, creating a sort of cross-guard. Two handles are connected to one another by a short length of cord wrapped in bandages. He also has shuriken holsters strapped onto each of his legs.

The figure in the middle was a tall, slender woman with fair skin. She has green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin. She is wearing a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that falls just below the knees. It seems to be closed at the front with a zipper, and is kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covers up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wears a mesh armor that covers slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wears a skirt in the same color as her dress and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wears a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left along with high-heeled sandals, and shin-guards reaching up over her knees.

"Wait." The middle aged man said as they stopped on a tree branch casting a wary look around them. "Do you hear that?"

"I-it sounds like a pack of wolves." The blue haired man said nervously. "What are we going to do."

"Ao, see where they are so we can avoid them." The woman said calm.

"Yes ma'am." The now named Ao nodded as the veins around his right eye bulged. He was silent for a moment before turning to his companions. "They're twenty meters in front of us, and they have a child surrounded."

"A child?" The woman asked looking to Ao. "What's a child doing all the way out here?"

"I don't know." Ao shook his head his eyes narrowing. "Wait, somethings wrong. The wolves are attacking each other."

"Attacking each other?!" The blue haired man asked in shock. "Why would they attack each other?"

"How should I know?" Ao replied turning his attention back to analyzing the situation ahead of them. "If I had to make a guess, I would say it's the child."Seeing the confused looks on his companions faces he elaborated. "I'm not certain, but it looks like mist is coming out of the child's body and its causing the wolves to attack each other."

"Did you say mist?" The woman asked her eye narrowing a bit. "For now, we should get the child to safety before we continue on. Come Ao, Chojuro."

"Ma'am!" Her companion's said at the same time and they began jumping branches again. When they arrived, they saw Kojiro surrounded by mangled bodies of wolves before he continued to walk in the direction of the mist village.

"There's something wrong with that little girl." Chojuro commented watching Kojiro's back nervously. "It was like she wasn't fazed by the wolves at all."

"First of all Chojuro, that child is a boy." Ao said shocking the blue haired swordsman. "Secondly, I don't even think he's even aware that he's surrounded by mangled corpses of wolves." He pulled out a kunai and threw it towards Kojiro cutting the fabric of his kimono's sleeve. "See, he didn't even stop to look around to find where the kunai came from."

"He's most likely under genjutsu then." The woman mused. "But why use it on a child?"

"Um, it might have been for the mist." Chojuro suggested getting the attention of his two companions.

"Please explain Chojuro." The woman requested politely.

"Uh right." Chojuro said nervously adjusting his glasses. "Ao said that mist was coming out of his body right?" When the two nodded he continued. "If the mist can turn a pack of wolves against each other, what do you think would happen if he lets it out in the middle of the village?"

"It would be a massacre." The woman said in realization looking back to Kojiro. "We have to stop him and break that genjutsu. But be gentle, he's only a child."

"Ma'am!" Chojuro and Ao both jumped off the branch landing in front of Kojiro who stopped walking and mist started to leave his body.

"No you don't!" Chojuro reached for his sword holding both handles before swinging it like a fan blowing away the mist.

"Good work." Ao commented getting behind Kojiro weaving through hand signs before clapping his hands together. " **Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!** " The mist around them started to surround Kojiro trapping him in a sphere of water with one of Ao's arms submerged in it. Kojiro looked behind him to stare at Ao with his lifeless eyes as the water sphere started to bubble up and steam rised from it and Ao cringed at the burning feeling on his arm.

"Release it Ao." The woman said landing in front of Kojiro with her hands in the ram hand sign. Ao nodded and removed his hand causing the boiling water to fall with Kojiro landing on his feet and was about to retaliate when the woman placed her middle and index fingers against his forehead. " **Release!** " Kojiro's eyes widened for a moment before they slowly closed and fell forward into the woman's arms.

* * *

Kojiro P.O.V.

I groaned when I regained consciousness and I slowly opened my eyes to see I was in a forest staring up at a clear starry sky. I turned my head to the side to see a campfire burning brightly illuminating the clearing. I shivered when a chill went up my spine and I realized I was cold even though I have a blanket over me and I was next to a fire.

"Oh, you're awake." I looked up to see a woman with long red hair with her bangs covering one of her green eyes standing over me holding a cup. "Do you think you can sit up?" I blushed when I realized I could see up her skirt before looking away and nodding. She sat down next to me as I sat up and held out the cup to me. "Here, this should help warm you up."

"Thank you." I said shyly taking the cup before taking a sip and letting out a content sigh when my body started to feel warm. "So good."

The woman chuckled giving me a warm smile. "I'm glad you like it."

"So the brat's awake now?" I turned to see a middle aged man with an eye patch on his right eye walking over with pieces of wood in his arms followed by a younger man with a sword wrapped in bandages on his back carrying wood too.

"He is Ao." The woman nodded before turning to me. "Now that they're here, allow me to introduce ourselves." She gestured to herself. "My name is Mei Terumi." She then gestured to the middle aged man and the blue haired man respectively behind her. "And these two are Ao and Chojuro." She the gestured to me. "And your name is?"

' _Should I tell them my name?_ ' I thought looking down at my cup. ' _I know they mean me no harm, considering what they did during the fourth great war, but I can't take the risk._ ' I looked to the trio from the corner of my eye to see that they were patiently waiting for my response, though Ao looks like he's ready to blow his top, before looking at my cup again to stare at my reflection. "...Kojiro."

"Kojiro huh?" Mei mused with a gentle smile. "That's a good name, your parents chose well."

"Speaking of which." Ao interrupted looking to me. "Where are your parents young man?"

I looked away from them when the memory of my parents resurfaced and my shoulders shook a little as I fought to keep my tears from falling. "They're... They're dead." I tightened my grip on my cup as the tears slid down my face and I bit my bottom lip. It was silent after that and I was grateful because I need time to collect myself before I have an outburst. I reached up to my hair for my mother's hair stick only for my eyes to widen when I realized it was gone and started to frantically look around. "My hair stick!"

"You mean this?" I looked over to Chojuro to see he was holding my mother's hair stick in his hands. "We didn't want you to feel uncomfortable while were sleeping, so we took it off." He then held it out to me. "Here."

I quickly reached out dropping my cup and grabbed the hair stick out of his hands and started to inspect it carefully before sighing in relief. "Thank goodness."

"It means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Mei asked gently and I knew from her voice that she was being careful of what she says. I just nodded holding the hair stick closer to myself. "Was it your mother's?"

Again I just nodded as I looked back to them when I noticed Ao's right arm was bandaged. "Your arm."

"Hm?" Ao looked to his arm. "Oh this, it's nothing, just a small burn."

' _That's not just a small burn._ ' I thought when I looked at his arm carefully. ' _Even though it's bandaged, I can still tell that those are second-degree burns from the gaps between the bandages._ ' It was then that I remembered what Ryuji told me about my chakra and I looked down to my hands with a remorseful look on my face. "I-I did that, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't!" Chojuro frantically said waving his hand in front of himself. "It was just an accident when we set the fire."

"There's no point lying to the boy." Ao said as I clenched the blanket over my lap tightly in my small fists. "It's true that you did this, but you weren't in control. Can you tell us how you were under that genjutsu?"

' _Genjutsu?_ ' I looked to Ao with a confused look on my face. ' _I was under a genjutsu?_ ' I looked down in thought trying to see what I remember. ' _I remember I was celebrating my birthday with Mrs. Shinomiya and Ryuji and looking out my window to stare at the full moon. I can't remember anything after that except seeing my parents' bodies in a dark cave._ ' I then look back to Ao and shook my head. "I don't remember."

"You don't remember?" Ao repeated in surprise and I nodded in confirmation and he crossed his arms in thought being careful of his burned arm. "Probably so you won't be able to recognize them if you were to see them again."

"For now why don't you get some sleep Kojiro?" Mei suggested gently pushing me down and pulling the blanket over my chest. "You had a long night."

I gave her a small smile and nodded. "Thank you for the drink Miss. Mei, it was really good." I then closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

3rd P.O.V.

"What should we do about Kojiro?" Chojuro asked casting a worried look to the sleeping six year old. "We can't take him with us."

"I agree." Ao nodded agreement as he tossed a piece of wood in the fire. "I don't think it's a good idea to leave him in the village either, if that mist is what I think it is, he'll be dead the moment the village learns of it."

"No choice then." Mei suddenly said walking to the duo. "Kojiro will have to leave the Land of Water until we can make this land better for everyone."

The next day, Kojiro opened his eyes to see he was riding piggyback on Ao and started to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"You awake kid?" Ao asked suddenly startling the boy.

"Uh, yeah, I'me awake." Kojiro replied holding onto the middle aged man's shoulders as not to fall off. Kojiro looked ahead of them to see they were approaching a harbor. "What are we doing here?"

" _You're_ going on that ship there." Ao said putting emphasis on 'you're' nodding his head towards a ship that just docked as he knelt down so I can get off. "I'm only here to drop you off."

"What about Miss. Mei and Mr. Chojuro?" Kojiro asked looking around for the middle age man's companions.

"They went on ahead." Ao replied kneeling in front of Kojiro. "Listen kid, you need to get on that ship and leave the Land of Water."

"What?" Kojiro had a look of shock on his face. "Why?"

"Because if you don't then you will die." Ao replied calmly and Kojiro's eyes widened in shock at what the man in front of him said. "We have reason to believe that you might have a Kekkei Genkai and because you might have one is why it's dangerous for you to stay here."

' _Oh yeah, people with a Kekkei Genkai were persecuted and even killed._ ' Kojiro thought with a sad look on his face.

"It's time Kojiro." Kojiro looked up to Ao's stern gaze. "Get on that ship and don't come back." Kojiro opened his mouth to protest but Ao cut him off. "This isn't up for debate, you're getting on that ship even if I have to drag you."

Kojiro hung his head in defeat and nodded. "But I don't have a ticket or money to buy one." Ao cleared his throat and Kojiro looked up to see he was holding out a ticket.

"Mei got this for you and wishes you the best of luck out there." Ao said looking to the side.

Kojiro lookded from Ao to the ticket and back before smiling and taking the ticket. "Thank you, Mr. Ao." He then ran to the ship and Ao vanished. Kojiro gave his ticket and got on the ship. The shipe began to leave port and Kojiro stood at the back tightly gripping the wooden railing as he watched the place of his birth get farther and farther away. "Good-bye Landa of Water, Mrs. Shinomiya, Noriko, Ryuji. I promise I'll be back someday."

* * *

 **Do you know what time it is? You guessed it! It's time for me to reply to your reviews to show you readers how much I care about your opinions and support for this fanfic!**

 **SilverDragon1218: I don't know, who do you think it is? Sorry to leave you hanging like that, but you gotta admit it built up your anticipation to learn what happens next right? Thank you for support and I look forward to your future reviews as always.**

 **Rodvek97: Glad you like it. Don't remind me! It broke my heart in two to write that T_T. And I thank you for taking the time to read my fanfic and I look forward to your future reviews.**

 **Luckyshot8: Yeah, that was a nice touch wasn't it?**

 **Hayato Hyuga: Happy to hear I haven't disappointed you, I'll do my best.**

 **Guest: Glad to hear that you think Kojiro's mother is a nice lady.**

 **KitKedd: Happy to hear your less stress from reading my fanfic and happy to hear it helped. And I thank you for reading and I'll be waiting to read your future reviews.**

 **And with that, this act has come to a close and I look forward to seeing you all again for the next act.**


	10. Chapter 9

**I apologize for the wait ladies and gentlemen, but the wait is over as the curtain is ready to rise for the next act of our story. Please take your seats and hold your applause for our wonderful actors when we reach the end of today's act. Now without further delay, let the show begin!**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Is This the End?

Kojiro P.O.V.

It's been four days since I got on the ship and left the Land of Water. Ever since I got on board, I always go to the back of the ship to see if I can still see the land where I was reincarnated only to see nothing but water in every direction that I looked. My mind always wander back to Mrs. Shinomiya, Noriko, and Ryuji and just imagining the worried looks on their faces was enough for me to feel guilty about disappearing all of a sudden despite the fact that I was kidnapped. And that's what bothers me, no matter how hard I try I can't remember who my kidnappers were or why they kidnapped me. The only thing that I remember is being in a dark cave staring at the cold dead bodies of my parents laying in a pool of their own blood. I still cry and feel chills going down my spine whenever I think about it.

"I should get some sleep." I mumbled to myself resting my arms on the wooden railing looking up to the starry sky. "Will I dream about mom and dad again? If I do, I hope they're good ones." A chill went down my spine from the cold night air as I made my way to where my cabin on the ship is and my mind wandered to what Ao told me before I got on board. "Is what Ao told me true? Do I really have a Kekkei Genkai?" I raised my hands to look at my palms. "I know that Kekkei Genkai is a mixture of two chakra natures with dojutsu being the exception, but do I really have one?"

"Hey kid!" I looked up from my hands to see a man I'm guessing is one of the ship's staff walking towards me. "What are you doing wandering out here all alone so late at night? You should hurry back to your cabin and get some sleep." He stopped in front of me and knelt down so that he was at eye level with me and gave a friendly smile. Another thing that sucks about reincarnation, everyone is taller than you and treats you like you're some defenseless kid... oh wait, I am a defenseless kid. "After all, a little girl like you needs all the sleep you can get if you want to be pretty for any boy that catches your eye."

"I'm a boy!" I shouted in complaint at being called a girl yet again. I already accepted the fact that I look like a girl, but that doesn't mean I enjoy being called one. The man's eyes widened and had a look of surprise at both my outburst and what I said.

"You are?" He asked before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head letting out a nervous laugh at the awkward situation he got himself in. "Sorry about that kid." He then got to his feet dusting off non-existent dust on his clothes. "Anyway, you should really get back to your cabin. Is it nearby or do you want me to walk you there?" I just shook my head and pointed to the door next to us which happens to be my cabin when he stopped me. "I see, at least you didn't get lost. sleep well kid." With that being said the man continued to walk past me as I opened my cabin's door and walked in.

"I might as well wear a sign that says 'I'm a boy!' around my neck." I muttered to myself before sighing pulling out my hair stick and hair tie to let my hair fall and flopped on the bed in the cabin to stare at the ceiling while placing my hair stick and hair tie in the folds of my kimono. My arm found its way to rest on my forehead as my thoughts went back to the worried looks that are most likely on Mrs. Shinomiya and Noriko's faces right now. ' _Everything went so fast, I didn't had the chance to ask if everyone's okay back in the village._ ' I rolled to lay on my side to looked out the window to see the stars shining in the night sky. ' _I doubt Ao, Chojuro, or Mei knows how they are even if I did ask, I just hope they're alright._ ' I felt something press against my chest and reached into the folds of my kimono to pull out a red scroll much to my surprise and unfurled it to read the contents inside.

After five minutes of rereading the scroll, I found out that it _was_ the scroll that I wrote what in I remembered from the anime and manga. "What's this doing here? I thought I left it in my room at Mrs. Shinomiya's place." I took my eyes off the scroll to look at the ceiling trying to remember where the last time in my room I left the scroll before realization hit me. "Ah, I forgot to put it away before going to bed." I furled the scroll and stared at it contemplating what I should do with it. I sighed before unfurling it again and began to tear it apart into tiny pieces making sure that not one part of it left a single word that was readable. After I thoroughly tore the scroll, I gathered the pieces and threw them out the window to be scattered by the wind before climbing in the bed and let myself be dragged into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The sound of creaking wood stirred me from my slumber but kept my eyes closed in hopes of falling back to sleep. The sound got closer as the squeak of a door's hinges entered my ears and rolled in my bed so my back was facing the door. Let's just say that was a bad idea when I started to hear footsteps slowly approaching me when a hand suddenly clasped over my mouth and nose forcing me out of my drowsy state as my eyes shot wide open and I began to trash around letting out muffled scream hoping to at least either get away or someone hearing me.

"Is this kid one of them?" I heard someone asked removing their hand from my mouth only for a piece of cloth to take its place in muffling my screams.

"If the blue hair is anything to go by." I heard another feminine voice replied as the other person forced my arms to my back and began to tie them. "I don't get why one of that clan is on this ship, but then again, I don't really care. The boss will be happy either way." I couldn't see who was tying me up, but I did saw the the person in front of me was a woman probably in her mid-twenties with long brown hair tied in a bun and brown eyes wearing a red chinese dress with a yellow trim. She gave her companion an impatient glare. "Would you finish tying her up already? If we don't leave now we're going to get caught."

"Shut up." The person behind me grumbled as he tightened the last knot on my wrists and started to tie my ankles holding them down with one hand while the other made a single knot before he grabbed both ends of the rope and tightened it effectively restraining my legs. "You try tying up a struggling kid. it's not as easy as it looks." The woman sighed resting her hands on her hips as the man finished the last knot and walked around me to stand in front of the woman for me to see a tall bald man wearing a black suit. "There, she's tied up, you happy now?"

"About time." The woman said turning to open the door to my cabin and looked left and right. "Doesn't look like there's anyone yet." She looked back to her male companion. "Grab the kid and let's get out of here."

"Don't tell me what to do." The man glared at her before turning around and got on a knee reaching for me. Out of fear, I kicked the man as best I could with my ankles tied together aiming for his knee, but my aim was off and ended up kicking him in the crouch which resulted in his howling in pain and fell to the side holding his damaged goods twitching.

"You idiot!" The woman whispered in panic as she looked out the door to see a few people approaching before shutting the door and pushing the bed against it. After she finished barricading the door she turned to face me with a glare. "Now you've done it kid, you shouldn't have done that." She pulled a dagger out of nowhere and I stared at it in fear as the light of the moon reflected off the blade. "If you had been a quiet and obedient little girl, then I wouldn't have to resort to killing you." I tried to back away from the woman but something flew past my head halting my movements as the cloth that was tied over my mouth fell to the floor and there was a cut on my cheek with small beads of blood trailing down from it. I slowly looked behind me to see it was the dagger the woman was holding embedded into the floor. "That was a warning shot, the next one will be aimed for your heart." I looked back to the woman as she pulled out another dagger and slowly approach me. "I don't know why the boss wants someone from your clan, but I have a feeling you're going to cause problems even if we did manage to get you off this ship."

' _My clan?_ ' I thought in confusion as she knelt down and placed the tip of the dagger under my chin and forced me to look her in the eyes. ' _What's this lady talking about?_ '

"I feel generous today, so I'll let you choose how you want to die." The woman said removing the dagger from under my chin to point the end towards my right eye. "You have two options between a quick death, or a slow and painful one." She slowly pulled the dagger back a few inches as a sadistic smirk formed on her lips. "Now pick, you have until the count of three before my dagger digs those beautiful green eyes of yours out." With her other hand, she raised one finger. "One."

My body wouldn't stop shaking as I couldn't take my wide fearful eyes away from the blade as she pushed it forward a little. ' _She's going to kill_ me.'

"Two." The woman raised another finger bringing blade inched closer and closer to my eye and I started to break out in a cold sweat. 'She's _going to kill_ me.'

"Two and a half." My eyes widened even further that she actually said that which caused my breathing to start getting abnormally fast and I knew right away that I was hyperventilating from fear of a dagger being mere inches from my eye and knowing that the last thing I'll ever see is the sadistic glee on the face of the woman in front of me. ' _S_ _he's going to kill me!_ ' I shut my eyes waiting for the dagger to plunge in them and for the pain that's sure to be unbearable.

"Stop it!" I risk cracking open an eye to see the man I nailed in the nuts earlier gripping the woman's wrist and her dagger in his other hand. "The boss wants her alive, he'll be royally pissed off if you kill someone from that clan!"

"So what if he's pissed!" The woman snapped wrestling her arm out of his grip. "It's not worth getting caught just to deliver some kid! He doesn't even explain why he wants a member of that clan, so why should I give a damn of whether we deliver the kid or not?!"

"Are you really that stupid?!" The man yelled in frustration. "Did you forget the last time one of our men killed a person from a nearly extinct clan?!" I continued to watch the two argue before realizing that it was my chance to get out of these ropes and slowly backed up to the dagger that was still behind me and started to slowly cut the ropes on my wrists. "The guy's lucky to be alive, what do you think will happen to you when he finds out you killed this little girl?!" I fought off the urge to shout that I was a boy and focused on cutting the ropes.

"I'd like to see that bastard try and kill me." The woman said waving a dismissive hand. "He may be the boss of our group, but that doesn't mean he controls me." She then glared at the tall man in front of her. "I kill whoever I want to kill. If my target ends up being the last of their clan then oh well, it's their fault for being pathetic weaklings." I felt the ropes loosen around my wrists knowing that they were cut and knew I didn't had much time to free my legs so I decided to throw caution to the wind and quickly pulled the the dagger out of the floor and just as quickly cut the rope around my ankles and made a run for the window I conveniently left open since the door was barricaded. Apparently I wasn't quiet enough as when I reached the window a dagger whizzed past me and embedded itself in the window frame. "Where do you think you're going brat?" I slowly looked back to the man and woman as her glare sent chills down my spine. "Don't even try it, on the other side of that window is nothing but open water. So be a good girl and come with us quietly." She then gave the man a side glare. "You happy now?"

"Very." The man nodded and slowly approach me cracking his knuckles. "Now, in case you try to run again, I'll break both your legs." My eyes widened at that and with every step the man took I could feel my body shaking fearing what they were going to do after they get their hands on me. "We can't kill you since our boss will kill us is we did, but there isn't anything that says we can't immobilize you if you get difficult."

I realized that my options were limited as the man got closer and I tried to think of a way out of here. My eyes scanned the room I can use as a weapon or a possible exit other than the window behind me only to seen none of either. I could practically feel my heart savagely pounding against my rib cage and my breathing started to get heavier.

" _ **Kill.**_ " I heard a deep, menacing, watery voice echoing inside my head. " _ **Blood. I thirst for blood. Give me blood!**_ " My head started to feel as if something was trying to rip my brain to pieces and shatter my skull as the voice repeated the same words over and over again to the point it was unbearable that I was gripping my head and shut my eyes tightly without knowing it letting out screams of pain when I felt them. I felt tears running down my face as I tried to shut the voice out of my head that only got louder with every second that past. " _ **k**_ i _ **l**_ **L** **!** _K_ **i** ** _l_** l _ **! KILL!**_ " I couldn't think properly anymore when I felt my body collide with something before what I think was water entered my mouth going down my throat filling my lungs and when I opened my eyes I saw that I was under water watching the ship I was on floating by. My vision started to get blurry and my eyelids felt heavy as they slowly closed before everything faded to black.

* * *

I screamed bolting to a sitting position breathing hard and looked around to see I was in my room from my past life. I saw I was laying in my bed that was next to a desk with a swivel chair. Next to the desk was a book shelf filled top to bottom with manga and medical books and my closet.

"A dream?" I muttered in disbelief resting a hand on my forehead. "It felt so real. I thought I died."

"Kyle!" My head left my hand to look at the door when a voice I thought I'd never hear again called out. "Are you up yet? You're going to be late for school!"

"Mom?" I hesitantly whispered.

"I'm heading to work now!" I heard my mother yell again so i can hear her. "I left your breakfast on the table so be sure to eat it before it gets cold!" I heard the front door close telling me she left.

"No way, I'm alive?" I looked to the window to look at my reflection to see that I was a teen with my hair was its usual messy short brown and my eyes were the same shade as my hair. I looked my body over to see there wasn't a scratch on me. "Was all that just a dream?" I looked over to the Naruto clock I had on my desk and my eyes widened when I saw the time. "Crap! I'm going to be late!" I jumped off the bed and opened my closet pulling out random clothes and left my room to take a quick shower. After my shower and eating breakfast, I ran out of the house remembering to lock it and ran down the street of my neighborhood praying I make it to school on time. When I reached the crosswalk I saw Jason waiting for the light to change. "Hey, Jason!"

Jason looked behind him and grinned when he saw me running towards him. "Hey Kyle, running a little late today?"

"Shut up." I said resting my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath. After I was breathing evenly again I stood up straight and stood next to him to wait for the light to change. "I'm running late because of a weird I had dream is all."

"A dream?" Jason asked looking to me curiously. "What kind of dream was it?"

"It felt so real." I replied and we began walking when the light finally changed. "I dreamt that I pushed you out of the way of a out of control ambulance only to get hit myself and died."

"You dreamed you died?" Jason asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and that's not even the weird part." I said as we passed a convenience store. "After that I dreamt that I was reincarnated in the Narutoverse."

"I should have guessed." Jason chuckled as we approached another crosswalk. "Coming from a big Naruto fan like you it's no surprise that you had a dream like that."

I laughed at that as the light changed and we started crossing. "You're probably right. we should hurry before Mr. Turner gets pissed at us."

"Yeah." Jason nodded in agreement. "I don't want to hear another one of his lectures about us wasting our young lives and keeping him waiting."

"I think once is enough." I shuddered at listening to what could be hours of a middle aged man droning on about how we should cherish the time of our youth before we regret it only for it to turn into him yelling at us for being late to his class and keeping him waiting as he doesn't start class until all students are accounted for except those who were sick. All of a sudden I stopped walking and couldn't move my feet, I looked down in surprise and tried to lift a foot up only for it to stay rooted to the ground like it was glued there. "What the?"

"Come on Kyle." I looked up to see Jason in front of me with his hands behind his head. "Hurry up or we're going to be late."

"Jason, I can't move my legs." I said trying to lift my leg again only for the same result as last time. "Why won't they move?" The sound of a siren penetrated my ears and I looked to the source and my eyes widened in horror when I saw it was an ambulance and frantically look to Jason who hasn't noticed yet. "Jason! Get out of the way!" He just continued to look at me as the ambulance got closer and closer as I grabbed my leg in a desperate attempt to fore the appendage to move to no avail. I looked back to the ambulance to see it was mere seconds from hitting us when all of a sudden my arms moved on their own and pushed Jason out of the way and I felt something hard collided with my body sending me flying. ' _This is just like_...'

* * *

My eyes snapped open only to see nothing but pitch black and when I tried to move my arms I realized that my wrists were tied behind my back and cloth over my mouth again. I still couldn't see anything and I assume the reason why is because I'm blindfolded which wasn't really helping my panicked state of mind right now. There was a bit of swaying and that's usually an indication that you're being carried either on someone's shoulder or under their arm.

' _A dream?_ ' I thought in confusion.

"Honestly, what was this kid thinking?" I heard a familiar voice said in exasperation making me stiffen a little. "The brat's lucky we jumped after him since we needed him alive or he would be fish food right now."

"I don't think he was thinking at all." A masculine voice said and I could hear from his tone that he was contemplating something and it hit me that they stopped calling me her, she, and girl. I thought over many ways how they knew I was a boy when they were calling me a girl before and blushed when one way popped in my head but quickly dismissed it. "He looked like he was in pain if him gripping his head was any indication."

"Or he's bat shit crazy." The woman replied with a snippy tone in her voice snapping me out of my thoughts and quickly pretended I was still unconsciousness. "Who else but people whose off their rocker grip their head like that and jump out random windows screaming like a crazy person?"

"You got a point there." The man admitted begrudgingly making me think that these two don't get along. "But that isn't our concern, all that matters is getting this kid to the boss." Everything fell silent after that with only the sound of footsteps entering my ears as I pretended to still be unconscious to think of a way to get away from these people. I considered using my chakra, but I can never know what could happen and might accidentally kill myself in the process. "How much do you think the boss is going to ask for when he sells him?"

My eyes widened under the blindfold but stayed perfectly still when I processed those words. Sell? As in giving something, or in my case someone, away in exchange for money kind of sell? Are these people slave traders?!

"Who knows." The woman replied and if I wasn't blindfolded and pretending to be unconscious I would probably see her shrugging right now. "All I know is that the boss wanted someone from that clan. Heck, he doesn't even know what they can do." I felt someone hit me in the head and I forced a yelp that wanted to come out down my throat to stay quiet and keep my act of being knocked out going until I figured out how to get away. "The only information he's got about them is that they all have blue hair and have an affinity for water style jutsu."

"One things for sure, the boss will be happy that we got him." The man said adjusting me on his shoulder which I now know was the way I was being carried. "The hidden cloud might pay a pretty penny for him. After all, weren't they on the hunt for people from different clans to breed their own in the village?"

' _I'm not an animal!_ ' I mentally yelled in frustration realizing that my legs weren't tie this time. I thought about kicking the man again but decided against that idea as I probably won't get away from his companion when he drops me. ' _This can't be happening to me. First I lost my parents, then I had to leave everyone because of a theory, and now this? What's next? I ended up a jinchuriki?_ '

" _ **Kill.**_ " a familiar deep, menacing, watery voice echoed in my head again.

' _Not again._ ' I thought in horror when the familiar feeling of something trying to crush my skull made itself known and I couldn't help but let out a whimper when it got worse. ' _Please, not this again._ ' I felt the man stop walking and I knew they heard me whimper but I didn't pay them any mind as the pain got so severe that the blindfold over my eyes were soaked from the tears that forced their way out and let out a scream that was muffled from the cloth over my mouth.

"There he goes again." The woman sighed in irritation. "Let's just kill the kid, he's getting on my nerves."

"We can't." The man said dropping me from his shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I feel like living."

"Like I care about what you feel like doing." I felt a foot slam into my gut which made me cry out in pain but only muffled sounds came out. "All I care about are two things. Killing and making money, so unless you want to be next I suggest you shut that trap of yours and let me do my thing." The blindfold was removed and I had to shut my eyes at the sudden brightness before slowly opening them to see the woman from the ship looking down to me with fake concern. "Oh you poor boy, you look to be in so much pain." She then smirked and kicked me in the gut again and I cried out again. "Let give you some more before I put you out of your misery!"

My cries of pain were nothing but muffled screams as the woman continued to kick me while I rolled myself into a ball in a vain attempt to keep her from kicking my stomach again only for her to change targets to my back. She then pulled out her daggers and seemed like she was playing Russian Roulette as she randomly threw them hoping to land a hit and prolong my suffering. One of the daggers cut the cloth and it fall out of my mouth making my cries heard for once which was music to her ears when a dagger finally hit me in the shoulder.

My vision started to get blurry and getting dark which reminded me of when I died in my past life. Tears continued to fall down my face when I thought I might die here and no one will find me. ' _S-some... someone... please... help me._ ' Everything went dark and couldn't stop myself from surrendering to what I thought was Death's cold embrace.

* * *

 **It is now time to reply to the reviews of the audience who were kind enough to leave them for me to read and know how you feel.**

 **guest reader: As you have witnessed today, Konoha is not Kojiro's next destination yet. Only those who see all knows the answer of our hero's fate.**

 **Rodvek97: Not yet I'm afraid. Young Kojiro still has a long journey ahead of him.**

 **SilverDragon1218: Only time will tell when and where Kojiro will reach his destination. They would most likely think the worst as Kojiro vanished in the dead if night. As much as it pains me to write it, it must be done and I shall always cherish the time and effort I put into making Kosuke and Akane. As you saw in today's act, the red scroll will now never fall in the wrong hands. I do apologize for the wait and I hope that this has satisfied you enough to patiently await the next act I have planned.**

 **Darashiko: It warms my heart to hear that you liked it and I look forward to hear from you again.**

 **Seeker of Immortality: No, he most certainly will not be happy. I am happy to hear you love it and I hope you leave a review for the next time you and this story cross paths.**

 **MohamedOssama999: He did not blurt out due to shock of seeing Zetsu and wasn't thinking clearly in his grief of seeing his parents' corpses. Glad to know you thought it was great.**

 **oshietenaruto:** **Believe me when I say that the naruhina will happen, just not yet as Kojiro has yet to reach Konoha. Glad you like it and thought it was funny. I apologize for the wait, but here is the next chapter.**

 **KittKed: That's the case in most kidnappings. He couldn't ask as Ao, Chojuro, and Mei might not even know. I thank you for waiting and hope to hear from you again.**

 **NHHY99:** **An interesting idea, but unfortunately not going to happen.**

 **That is all for the reviews and now the curtain must fall as we it a day for today's act and I hope to see you all again next time.**


	11. Chapter 10

**I welcome you all once again to the next act of New Life in Naruto. Before we begin, I have a question; the title was originally supposed to have both a question mark along with the exclamation mark. However, the question mark keeps disappearing, does anyone know why? With that out of the way, May the curtain rise and let the show begin!**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Second Encounter with the Beast

3rd P.O.V.

The man stood back with his arms crossed as he watched his female companion continuously kick Kojiro in the gut as the six year old let out muffled screams of pain due to the cloth over his mouth and rolled into a ball to prevent her from kicking there again only for her to switch to his back. She then pulled out her daggers and started to randomly throw them down missing every time before one cuts the cloth off the boys mouth and one embedding itself into his shoulder making him scream in pain once more only it was louder than the other muffled screams with the absence of the cloth. Eventually, Kojiro ceased all movement as his eyelids slid shut and he could see that his chest wasn't rising or falling to indicate if he was still alive with the woman standing over the blue haired boy breathing hard with a sadistic grin on her face.

"Congratulations." The man said sarcastically uncrossing his arms glaring at the woman. "You just killed someone that could have made us a lot of cash Hanako."

"Shut up Kenji." The now named Hanako said giving the limp form of Kojiro another kick in the head. "You were itching to kill the kid too after that low blow he gave you." Kenji twitched at that as Hanako lazily tossed a dagger in the air and catching it repeatedly. "Besides, how much can a kid be worth if no one even knows what his clan can do?"

"We could have learned that if you didn't killed him." Kenji pointed out looking past Hanako to Kojiro before sighing in frustration. "But now that he's dead, he's excess baggage."

"Then we'll dump him overboard." Hanako shrugged and knelt down reaching to grab Kojiro's wrist. "Heck, he probably wanted to be fish food in the first place when he jumped out that window." Suddenly Kojiro's hand grabbed Hanako's wrist surprising both her and Kenji. Hanako was the first to break out of her shock and glared down to the boy. "You're still alive? Then I guess I'll to aim for a more lethal spot." She tried to wrestle her hand free from his grip only for him to tighten his hold on her. "Let go right now or you'll regret it!"

"Hanako!" Kenji shouted and the woman looked back to him with an irritated look on her face to see he was staring at the six year old with wide fearful eyes. "Look at his hand!"

"His hand?" Hanako raised an eyebrow. "Why would I look his ha-" She looked back to the limp form of Kojiro to see that his hand was covered in green scales that was slowly going up his arm. Her eyes widened at this as the scales continued to form over half of Kojiro's face who open his eyes for the two to see that they were completely yellow with no pupil or sclera. A crunch was heard followed by a scream as Hanako struggle to get her hand free with a fearful look in her eyes as the scales completely covered Kojiro's body. She pulled out a dagger and tried to stab Kojiro in the chest only for the blade to break and Kojiro using his other hand to grab Hanako's throat squeezing tightly. "Let go! Let go you freak!"

"Hanako!" Kenji ran over to them and kicked Kojiro in the chest forcing him to let go of Hanako's wrist and throat as he was pushed back and got in front of her while she fell to her knees coughing desperately to get air into her lungs. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Hanako replied breathing hard from all the screaming and lack of air holding her broken wrist. "Aside from my wrist being broken, I'll live." She then looked back to Kojiro who was getting to his feet. "What the hell is that thing?"

"I think we just found out why the boss wanted someone from the Kurosawa clan." Kenji muttered breaking into a nervous sweat bringing his fists up in a defensive stance. "Whatever that thing is, we need to do something about it."

"You saw how hard those scales are." Hanako growled out getting to her feet pulling out a dagger. "They're like literal full body armor, there's no way your bare fists can do that much damage to that thing."

"Only one way to find out." Kenji replied as Kojiro jumped towards them.

* * *

Kojiro P.O.V.

Once again I found myself in complete darkness and unable to move a muscle. When I opened my eyes and wondered why I even bother opening them if what I see is always going to be the same as when they are closed. My body felt cold and wet, my arms and legs felt like they were being weighed down by iron chains, and I felt like there was something tightening around my throat blocking any air from going in and into my lungs.

' _I guess I died again?_ ' I couldn't help the thought as I was slowly pulled downward. ' _I guess I only had one more chance at life and I wasted it._ ' I closed my eyes resigning myself to my fate. ' _H_ _eaven or hell, it doesn't matter. Won't change the fact that I'm dead._ '

" **You're not dead yet.** " The sound of something made of metal breaking and the tightening feeling around my throat left causing me to cough desperately getting air in my lungs. I tried to open my heavy eyes to see who the voice belonged to but they refused to open which frustrated me when I was suddenly feel like I was being lifted and placed on a hard surface. " **You're safe now Kojiro.** " I was confused as to how the voice knew my name and my eyes finally felt light enough for me to open them to see a few spikes surrounding me.

"Aaaaah!" I screamed shooting up into a sitting position and looked around for me to see that I was sitting on some kind of rock formation in the middle of a black ocean. The thing I was sitting on started to shake before rising revealing a head surfacing and I looked behind me to see three wide flat tails surfacing as well. ' _I know those tails._ ' I look back to the front in shock to see that the head belonged to a certain three tailed turtle. "Isobu?"

" **Nice to see you again Kojiro.** " Isobu greeted in his timid tone of voice and it was then that something burst out of the dark water ahead of us to reveal a silhouette standing on the water glaring at us with it's glowing yellow eyes and my body started to shake when the creatures eyes fell on me. I could see blood lust in those pupilless eyes and I could feel its intent to kill as fear welled up inside me.

"W-what is t-that t-thing." I stuttered out holding myself to stop my shaking body and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the silhouette as it slowly walked over to us. I could clearly see it had webbed hands and feet along with long spiky hair and when it was finally visible I couldn't believe my eyes at what I was seeing.

" _ **Kill**_ _ **!**_ " Standing on the water was me, the only difference was that my lookalike had green scales covering its entire body and that it has yellow eyes with no pupil or sclera that was filled with blood lust and murderous intent leaking out of its body. It stopped walking then pointed towards me causing me to flinch. " _ **You weak, you no worthy of Kurosawa name.**_ " My eyes widened when my lookalike suddenly jumped with tremendous force and was suddenly standing over me with one arm raised. " _ **Die!**_ "

I couldn't move when my lookalike brought its clawed hand down to kill me when one of Isobu's tails struck it sending it flying off his back. When my lookalike hit the water, it was suddenly surrounded in a cage of coral and it started to thrash inside trying to break free only to not leave a scratch which resulted in it letting out an inhuman scream of fury striking the coral harder only to lead to the same result as before. " **It won't be able to get out of that.** " Isobu placed one of his tails on his back next to me gently nudging me with another to get on which I did and it placed me down on a flat piece of coral in front of Isobu. " **You're not hurt, are you?** "

I shook my head before looking back to the coral cage where the inhuman screams were still heard. "W-what is that t-thing?"

" **I don't know.** " Isobu replied making more coral around the cage completely blocking all sight of my lookalike. " **It was already here when I arrived.** "

Chills went down my spine and my body started to shake again in fear when I processed Isobu's words. ' _It was already here? If this is a dream I want to wake up now._ ' I looked back to Isobu when realization struck me. ' _Hold on, if this isn't a dream, why is Isobu here? Shouldn't he be sealed in Yagura right now?_ ' My eyes widened in remembrance and dread followed when the memory of my dead parents popped in my head. ' _No way, was it during that time? Did the people who killed my parents seal Isobu inside me? I can't remember._ '

" **Kojiro.** " Isobu's voice brought me out of my thoughts. " **I think you should wake up now.** " Isobu looked to the coral cage and I followed his gaze. " **While you were passed out, that thing took over your body and was going berserk.** "

"It what?" I muttered under my breath with wide fearful eyes. I started to feel cold as a chill went down my spine at the thought of that thing using my body to go on a killing spree.

" **It didn't kill anyone yet.** " Isobu said reassuringly which didn't help when he said my body hasn't killed anyone 'yet'. " **Right now your body is in a fight with those two attackers from before but it won't last for much longer.** " I jumped when the inhuman screaming of my lookalike got louder and I looked back to the coral prison. " **Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't escape, you should hurry back.** "

"B-but how?" I asked looking around the black ocean that seem to be endless before looking back to Isobu. "I don't know how I got here or how to go back." Then I remembered the fact that the people trying to abduct me were full grown adults while my body is that of a defenseless six year old. ' _Not only do those two have age and fighting experience, but they also have the advantage of two against one._ ' I clenched my hands into fists so tightly that my nails were close to breaking skin when I thought about my defenselessness. ' _To make matters worse, they barricaded my cabin's door so I'm stuck with them with no help coming any time soon._ '

" **Would you like some assistance Kojiro?** " Isobu's question brought me out of my thoughts and looked up to him. " **I can help you get back... that is, if you want my help of course.** " I can tell by his voice that he was hesitant and I can't blame him, I know that I wouldn't want to be stuck sealed away inside another person because of what I am.

I remember reading on the wiki that Isobu and Yagura got along well with each other before Yagura got killed. I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought over what I should do about Isobu's offer. On the one hand, I could get out of this place and possibly get away from the people trying to either kidnap or kill me. But on the other hand, that thing Isobu trapped might break free while Isobu's sending me back and try to finish what it started. I looked back to the coral cage noticing a few cracks in the cage that were getting bigger by the second and saw a single glowing yellow eye glaring through one of the bigger cracks that brought the fear I managed to dial down back with more intensity as my body began to shake again. Isobu probably noticed I wasn't thinking about his question anymore cause when he followed where I was looking, the cracks on the cage were covered by another layer of coral blocking the eye from view which calmed me a little.

" **You don't have to worry about that thing.** " Isobu said and I nervously looked back to the giant three-tailed turtle. " **I'll make sure that thing doesn't escape, you should focus on staying alive Kojiro.** "

"How can I possibly focus when I know that thing is here?!" I shouted frantically pointing to the coral cage behind me. "I won't matter since I'll be dead the moment I go back anyway!"

" **I told you, I'll make sure that it doesn't get out of there.** " Isobu said reassuringly and as if to prove his words true, the coral cage behind me got covered in even more layers until I couldn't hear my lookalike's screams anymore and sink under the pitch black water we're standing on. " **As for you dying when you go back, if you will let me, I can lend you a bit of my chakra.** "

My eyes widened to the size of bowling balls when I processed what Isobu suggested. He wants to lend me his chakra? But we only met twice now and the first time was interrupted by that thing from earlier, why would he help me? "Why would you do that?"

" **Because I feel I can trust you.** " I was surprised by Isobu's response and he continued before I had the chance to ask why he trusted me when we barely know each other. " **When we first met, you didn't try to control me or my power, you didn't show an ounce of fear when you first saw me, and you actually asked for my name like I was a person instead of beast.** " Isobu lowered himself into the water so he was at eye level with me which I'm grateful for as my neck was starting to feel sore from looking up for a while " **My previous host was like that too, that is until he was killed and I got sealed in you.** "

' _He must be talking about Yagura._ ' I thought lowering my head silently mourning the death of the mizukage. ' _It's too early for him to die, maybe my being reborn here changed something and someone else killed him? But why seal Isobu inside me?_ ' I shut my eyes closed tightly trying desperately to remember what happened to me only for the image of my dead parents with green spikes coming out of their backs to pop up in my head. ' _Why is that the only clear image?!_ '

" **Are you alright Kojiro?** " Isobu's timid voice broke my train of thought and I looked up to see what I think was concern in his one eye. " **You look like you were lost in thought.** "

' _Wait, maybe Isobu knows who did this._ ' I thought my eyes widening in realization. ' _Isobu had to be there if he was sealed inside me, so he should know!_ ' Swallowing the lump in my throat I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before speaking. "You're inside me, aren't you Isobu?"

" **I am.** " Isobu nodded his tails swaying along the water's surface making ripples. " **I was ripped out of my previous host, the fourth mizukage, and was sealed into you for a reason I am not sure of.** "

' _The moment of truth._ ' I could feel my heart pounding against my rib cage as I braced myself to ask my question and hear Isobu's answer. "Do you know who did it?"

Isobu remained silent giving out a thoughtful hum. " **Yagura was attacked from behind and didn't had enough time to fight back when they knocked him out. I couldn't see his attackers as I too lost lost consciousness during the attack.** " I hung my head in disappointment at hearing Isobu doesn't know who did this to us. " **I'm sorry I couldn't be of some help Kojiro.** "

"It's fine Isobu." I said reassuringly lifting my head to give the giant turtle a small smile. "I guess I'll have to find out who they are for the both of us." I held out my hand with my palm facing up. "Since we're stuck together, do you wanna be friends?" I continued to smile when I heard a surprised sound coming from Isobu as I waited for his answer.

After what felt like hours of waiting, Isobu raised one of his hands and gently placed a claw on top of my outstretched hand. " **I would like that, Kojiro.** "

I could feel my smile grew bigger at his answer and tried to hold back my urge to jump in the air shouting in excitement. If Jason was here he would probably call me insane for making friends with a giant turtle that could literally make me as flat as a pancake with a single slam of his hand but I didn't care as I was too excited of the fact that I not only met a tailed beast, but became friends with one. ' _All my Naruto fan friends would be so jealous if I could tell them what's happening right now!_ ' Isobu removed his claw from my hand and I lowered it as we continued to look each other in the eye. I then realized something and gave Isobu a sheepish smile. "Um, can you help me get back Isobu?"

Isobu nodded and held out a fist. " **Please bumps fists with me and close your eyes Kojiro.** " I nodded and did as was told as I felt something surge through my body.

* * *

I opened my eyes to see I was back in my cabin, if it can be called that anymore when I saw that there were claw marks and destroyed furniture everywhere. I then remembered that I wasn't alone in here and frantically looked around until my eyes fell on the man and woman who tried to kidnap me on the other side of the room breathing heavily with their clothes having tears all over and bleeding claw marks on their arms. I saw that the woman was holding her wrist and I could see from where I am that it was broken which confused me as I was sure that it wasn't broken when she was torturing me when I remembered what Isobu told me about my lookalike and shivered.

"Looks like the brat finally snapped out of it." The woman's irritated voice brought me out of my thoughts and quickly jumped to the side when she threw a dagger at me. I heard her click her tongue as she pulled out another dagger. "Damn, I missed."

"Careful Hanako." The man said warily as he carefully eyed my every movement. "Don't forget what happened last time."

"I know Kenji." I now named Hanako growled out. "How can I forget when I have a broken wrist because of whatever that thing was?"

' _I'm so dead._ ' I thought as I looked around the destroyed cabin to see there was still no way out. I tried to find the window only for dread to settle when I saw that it was behind my kidnappers. ' _Why does my chakra have to be unstable? I could really use it right now!_ '

' **Perhaps I can help with that.** ' I jumped at the sudden voice but relaxed when I realized that it belonged to Isobu.

' _Isobu?_ ' I noticed a broken leg that most likely came from a destroyed chair and slowly reached for it. ' _How can you help?_ '

' **I know what caused your chakra to be unstable.** ' I paused reaching for the broken chair leg as my eyes widened at that. ' **I'll** **tell you later, for now you should try to escape.** ' I nodded in agreement and continued to slowly reach for the chair leg while keeping my eye on the bickering duo in front of me.

' _Almost._ ' I thought risking a side glance to see how close I was to grabbing the wooden object that would be my weapon. I was mere inches from grabbing it when a dagger whizzed between my hand and the chair leg embedding itself to the wall behind me and I looked back to the duo to see that Hanako had her good hand outstreched while Kenji stood beside her. ' _Crap, I was so close!_ '

"You didn't honestly thought a piece of wood was going to help in this situation did you?" Hanako questioned mockingly at my attempt to get something to protect myself. "Look kid, I don't know what that thing you turned into is and I honestly don't care, but I do care for the fact that you broke my wrist and that you're too much trouble to keep alive." She pulled out another dagger holding it at eye level to inspect it's sharpness. "So I'll just kill you so you're out of our hair."

"Hanako, I said it once and I'll say it again." Kenji gave the woman a side glance scowling at her which she ignored giving her dagger a few test swings. "The boss wants a member of the Kurosawa clan alive, he spent six years looking for the last surviving member." He then looked to me and I involuntarily flinched at the cold look in his eyes. "Though it's strange, I remember the boss saying that the last surviving member should be a man in his mid twenties, not some child."

' _Is he talking about my dad?_ ' I wondered as I slowly backed away until my back was against the wall. ' _What does he mean Kurosawa clan and last surviving member?_ '

"Looks to me the brat doesn't even know what the hell you're talking about." Hanako commented putting her dagger away and rested her eyes on me that looked like she wasn't interested in the conversation and just want to get things over with. "My guess is this little shit is the kid of the guy boss was after and didn't tell him anything about his clan or whatever."

"If that's the case then we can still use the kid as bait to lure out his father." Kenji muttered and I flinched at what he said. "Apparently the Kurosawa clan had a some secret that the boss was interested in." He slowly walked towards me until he was towering over me and reached for me. My body wouldn't stop shaking when the big hand was inches from my neck before I felt something hot run through my body and I noticed wisps of steam coming out of my body. Kanji backed away when he saw the steam as it started to started to cover the whole cabin.

"What the hell is this?" Hanako asked looking around holding her dagger defensively. "Is this some jutsu from the Kurosawa clan?"

' **She's wrong.** ' I heard Isobu's voice in my head as the steam continued to cover the cabin till I saw nothing but white. ' **By using my chakra, I am capable of making a mist that traps the enemy in a genjustu confusing them into attacking each other.** ' The sound of shouting and breaking wood is what I heard as I carefully looked around to see if I could find a way other than the window to escape. Sadly, I couldn't see much because of this mist and quickly tilted my head to the side when a stray dagger almost went through my head.' **The door is to your left, there's nothing blocking it now.** ' I nodded and mentally thanked Isobu as I slowly approached the door keeping my back to the wall so I wouldn't have a blind spot.

' _Good thing those two aren't ninja's._ ' I thought in relief when I could still hear my would-be kidnappers continue their assault on each other. ' _Problem is that once they realize what's going on they'll be after me again and there's nowhere for me to run on a ship._ ' I shook my head deciding to save that thought for later as I got close enough to the door to open it and quickly ran out frantically not daring to look back as I made a sharp right turn.

' **Kojiro, I think you should, as you humans would say, jump ship.** ' Isobu suggested as I continued to run around the ship not staying in one place fearing I would get caught.

' _But I can't swim._ ' I admitted mentally reaching the back of the ship looking around for a place to hide only to see that it was empty. ' _I'll drown if I jump._ '

' **Trust me.** ' Isobu said pleadingly and I looked behind me when I heard a couple of rapid footsteps rapidly getting closer then looked back to the water. I swallowed the lump in my throat and climbed over the railing before closing my eyes to take a deep breath and holding in as I jumped overboard into the water. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the ship continuing on with my would-be kidnappers looking over the railing shouting at each other.

' _Good, they didn't see me jump._ ' I thought as I watched the ship quickly got out of sight and I tried to surface when I remembered something and quickly started to panic flailing my arms and legs helplessly. ' _I'm such an idiot! I just said literally forty seconds ago that I couldn't swim!_ ' I saw something red on my arms and looked to it to see it was covered in some kind of bubbly red aura. ' _What the hell?_ ' I looked over my body to see that the bubbly aura was covering me from the neck down before it covered my head as well.

' **You can stop holding your breath now Kojiro.** ' Isobu said which confused me, why would he tell me to stop holding my breath when I'm still underwater? Deciding to trust him, I let out the air I was holding waiting for the sensation of water entering my mouth drowning me and I blanked in surprise when there was no feeling of anything going down my throat. ' **You'll be fine as long as you are covered in that cloak of my chakra. But with your body not use to it, I can only hold it for about ten minutes, so I suggest that you find dry land soon.** '

' _Alright, thank you Isobu._ ' I mentally thanked the turtle tailed beast and looked around to find a clue of how close land was when I saw a single small flat tail of red chakra waving behind me. ' _I wonder..._ ' I concentrated and the tailed started to wave up and down propelling me forward. I turned my attention to the front so I can see where I was going while trying to keep my tail waving when it stops or acts on it's own. ' _I hope I can find land soon before this disappears._ '

* * *

 **Now onto my favorite part, replying to your reviews.**

 **SilverDragon1218: Threw you for a loop huh? I'm glad too, now no one can take advantage of what's inside. I believe there is a misunderstanding, which I apologize for, I didn't specify who the voice belonged to. I wish I can help you, but this kind of conflict can only be resolved by you. I hope you are satisfied by this chapter and I look forward to hearing from you again.**

 **oshietenaruto: I'm not sure if my work is worthy of being on the big screen, but I'm flattered you think so. Glad you liked this chapter. No, Kojiro is not reincarnated as Haku, interesting thought though.**

 **Luckyshot8: There have been a misunderstanding, Isobu was not the voice. Though he did protect Kojiro by making that mist and covering him in the chakra cloak.**

 **CriticalFanatic:** **I hope it does, it's because of everyone's positive reviews that I am able to get my fanfics off the ground. Hope you can handle more suspense for the future.**

 **guest reader: Hmm, an interesting idea, I'll keep that under consideration as I brainstorm.**

 **Blueowl:** **Glad to hear that you think it has potential. Thank you for pointing that out, I'll try my best to get it polished as I write my fanfics to the best of my abilities. I agree, but to be fair he is an old man so a few things are bound to be forgotten such as children pushing themselves. No need to apologize, it's reviews like these that tell me that there is something bothering my readers or I need to fix or improve. I kinda felt like slapping him too when I finished writing that chapter. Thank you, I try my best with the descriptions, he couldn't defend himself because of the** **following two.** **He is just a child facing against a full grown adult with a weapon and he was still weak from just regaining consciousness after unknowingly throwing himself overboard. Life and death indeed, but Kojiro didn't want to get any possible nearby innocents involved. As for Isobu suddenly being blood thirsty, I deeply apologize for the misunderstanding, I completely forgot to inform that the voice wasn't Isobu. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing from you in future reviews.**

 **With that done I now bid you adieu until we next meet.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Greetings ladies and gentlemen, it is time for the long awaited eleventh chapter of our fine production. I certainly hope the wait was well worth it as I only want the best for you, my beloved readers. Now may the curtain rise and our actors take the stage, for the show is about to begin!**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Truth Comes Out

After what felt like forever since I got away from my attackers, my body started to feel sore and when I looked over the red chakra covering me I noticed that it was getting thinner by the second and that small holes were starting to form letting water in. Naturally I started to panic when I looked around to see that I was nowhere near land and the chakra tail I was using as a kind of paddle started to disappear.

' _This is bad!_ ' My eyes widened as I watched the vanished completely. ' _I just can't catch a break! Does some higher power hate me or something?!_ ' I tried kicking my legs to at least try to swim and find land before Isobu's chakra completely vanishes but I wasn't going anywhere.

" **Calm down Kojiro.** " Isobu's said inside my head making me cease my failed attempt to swim. " **Switch with me and I'll get you to dry land.** "

' _Switch?_ ' I thought when I suddenly found myself in the pitch black ocean again standing in front of Isobu. "What do you mean switch Isobu?"

" **Let me take temporary control.** " Isobu explained and it was then that I remembered that jinchuriki can let their tailed beast take control of their body like Naruto and Kurama when they were confronting Obito. " **Will you allow me Kojiro?** "

I just smiled and nodded my head. "Of course Isobu, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't trust you." Isobu looked surprised for a moment before nodding and he sunk into the black water and the ripples that formed began to show colors of the sea floor in the real world. I watched in awe as my arms and moved on their own effortlessly swim and dodging incoming coral before Isobu made my body swim up to reach the surface. ' _Was I running low on air?_ ' I heard a splash as my head went above the water and Isobu took a deep breath before diving and continued swimming to find land. "So this is what it feels like to switch places. Feels weird watching your body move when you're not the one doing it."

" **You'll get use to it.** " Isobu replied talking to me mentally as not to let any air out. " **It's the same for every jinchuriki.** " I nodded in understanding and sat down crossing my legs as I watched Isobu swim counting the sea life as they passed by and I chuckled when I saw a couple of fish bumped into each other in a way that made it look like they were kissing each other which made me remember that scene with Naruto and Sasuke on their first day as genin. " **Kojiro, is it okay if I ask you something?** "

"What is it Isobu?" I asked curiously wondering what he wanted to ask me.

" **I didn't mean to, but I saw a glimpse of a dream you had.** " Isobu said sounding a bit apologetic and I was confused as to what dream he was talking about. " **What were those weird vehicles and why did that boy call you Kyle?** "

My eyes widened in shock when I realized which dream Isobu was talking about. ' _He saw that?!_ ' I know I shouldn't be surprised since in a way we're sharing my body, but the fact that he saw the dream I had of my past life and Jason calling me by my old name was too shocking. ' _What should I do? I could lie, but Isobu might know it's a lie and begin doubting me._ '

" **It's okay if you don't want to tell me Kojiro.** " Isobu said timidly bringing me out of my thoughts. " **I don't mind waiting for you to tell me when you're ready, we're friends and I trust you.** "

Hearing that made me feel like a hypocrite when I said I trusted him but I couldn't trust him with a secret I was planning to take to the grave with me. I clenched my hands into fists disgusted with myself at the feeling like I'm just using Isobu to survive like Obito using the tailed beasts like tools. I unclenched my fists and let out a resigned sigh preparing myself for the inevitable. "I'll tell you."

" **Are you sure?** " Isobu asked as he swam to the surface again. " **I honestly don't mind waiting.** "

I shook my head not sure if he could see it or not. "No, you have a right to know as my friend, I can't keep secrets from you." Isobu didn't dive back in the water which I assume means I have his full attention so I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before I spilled everything. "That dream was about my past life."

" **Your past life?** " Isobu asked and I'm guessing his eyes widened in shock.

I just nodded as I continued on. "That boy was Jason, he was my childhood friend and we've been neighbors for as long as I can remember." A small smile formed on my lips as I thought back to how me and Jason would go to each other's houses to play and cause mischief. "Those vehicles are called cars, they use a liquid called gasoline to move and people ride in them." I uncrossed my legs and brought my knees to my chest wrapping my arms around them. "I died when one of those cars called an ambulance lost control and slammed into me after I pushed Jason out of the way." I let out a small laugh when I realized how ironic my death was.

" **What's so funny Kojiro?** " Isobu asked confused as to why I would be laughing.

"Nothing." I replied letting go of my legs and laid on my back staring at the darkness above me. "Just realizing the irony of it all. I died by an ambulance which is suppose to carry the sick and injured to the hospital."

" **That doesn't sound funny to me.** " Isobu said and I could practically feel the frown that was on my body's face as he dived under the water again and continued swimming. " **Why would you find your own death funny?** "

"I don't." I replied dipping a finger in the dark water of my mindscape making ripples that distorted what I was seeing through Isobu's eyes. "It was a humorless laugh Isobu." I dragged my finger across the water in a figure eight motion making small waves. "I'm surprised you don't think I'm crazy right now."

" **Why would I think that?** " Isobu asked surfacing from the dark water and when I looked down I noticed that my body was laying on a sea rock. " **I thought it would be a good idea to let your body rest for now since it was still sore from using my chakra.** " I nodded in understanding and looked up to look him in the eye. " **Kojiro, why did you say I would think you're crazy?** "

"That's the usual reaction when someone tells you about remembering your past life." I explained getting to my feet and walked over to Isobu running my hand over one of his giant claws and felt how rough it was in some places and smooth in others. "Who would believe someone who can't prove they were telling the truth about remembering a past life or two?" I shook my head when many different scenarios played out in my head if I told someone about remembering a memory from before I was born. "I'd be sent to a mental hospital or worse. No one would believe something so ridiculous."

" **I believe you Kojiro.** " I looked up to Isobu with a look of surprise but he continued. " **Don't forget that I saw a glimpse of your dream and it looked too real to be a figment of your imagination.** " Isobu used one of his tails to lift me up so I was at eye level with him. " **Reincarnation is not entirely impossible, it's just uncommon for those reincarnated to keep their past memories.** "

' _Oh yeah._ ' I thought as I sat legs crossed on Isobu's tail. ' _I forgot that Naruto and Sasuke are the reincarnations of Asura and Indra respectively._ ' I wanted to punch myself after remembering that and for being an idiot for thinking Isobu would think I was crazy after seeing a small piece of my dream of my past life. "So you really believe everything you saw?"

Isobu nodded. " **It is hard not to believe what I saw** **Kojiro.** " I was secretly relieved that he still called me by this life's name instead of my old one. " **Like I said earlier, it looked too real to just be a figment of your imagination.** " I felt a chill go down my spine when I thought back to my dream and reliving my death. " **Would you tell me more about your past life Kojiro?** "

"You want to know about my past life?" I asked in surprise and Isobu nodded and saw that he had childish curiosity shining in his one open eye. I didn't answer right away as I thought about what to do. ' _Since he's sealed inside me he would find out about my past life eventually._ ' I carefully weighed the pros and cons in telling Isobu everything about my past life. The pros being that he will take everything calmly and we become better friends, and the cons being that he won't take it calmly and go on a rampage. The thought of Isobu taking over of my body and going on a rampage was not something I want happening anytime soon. I mentally punched myself in the gut when I realized where that train of thought was going. Deciding that this mental struggle was getting me no where, I just smiled at Isobu trusting him as a friend and told him everything about my past life.

* * *

I opened my eyes and sat up raising my arms to stretch them feeling quite refreshed for some reason. I lowered my arms and got to my feet as the sun started to rise and if I were to describe the sight of the sun rising over the ocean in one word, that word would be beautiful. The way the golden orange light of the sun is reflected off the wavy surface of the blue ocean water was a breathtaking sight that would make a painting jealous. I took a deep breath taking in the smell of the salty sea air a smile etched on my face when the smell reminded me of home back in the land of water.

' ** _Good morning Kojiro._** ' I heard Isobu greeted from within my mindscape.

' _Good morning Isobu._ ' I greeted back happy that nothing has changed between us despite me telling him everything about my past life. I wanted to leave out telling him about the Naruto anime and manga but thought against that since he would probably see those memories whether I wanted him to or not. So I told him everything about the anime and manga and to say he was surprised was the biggest understatement of the millennia, I thought his one eye was going to fall out of its socket when he tried to process everything I told him. Needless to say he accepted everything I told him and even commented that he wanted to see what the world of my past life with his own eyes which made me laugh when a mental image of Isobu acting like a kid looking at everything in wonder.

I reached into the folds of my kimono and pulled out my mother's hair stick and a hair band before starting to tie my hair in its usual spiky ponytail. After that was done, I took the hair stick and placed it at the base of the ponytail making sure that the hairband kept it in place and looked over the edge of the sea rock to check my reflection. When I saw that it wouldn't fall off I nodded in satisfaction before my stomach decided to let me know it was time to eat by making growling noises. ' _Wish I had a fishing rod so I could catch myself some breakfast._ ' I looked around and sighed and I realized one important thing. ' _Not that it would do me any good since there's nothing to start a fire on this stupid rock._ '

' _ **Do you want me to take you to land now Kojiro?**_ ' Isobu offered as I sat on the edge of the sea rock dipping my feet in the water. ' _ **Perhaps I can catch you some fish on the way so when you reach land you can start a fire to cook them.**_ '

' _Normally, I would say no thanks and that I want to go the rest of the way myself._ ' I mentally replied as I looked around to see nothing but ocean and sighed again. ' _But I can't swim and I haven't practiced my chakra out of fear of it going unstable so I can't walk on the water._ '

' _ **Speaking of chakra.**_ ' Isobu sudden't said getting my attention. ' _ **Remember, I told you back on the ship that I know what was causing your chakra to be unstable.**_ '

' _That's right!_ ' My eyes widened and I quickly got to my feet being careful not to slip and fall in the water. ' _Why was my chakra unstable Isobu?_ '

' _ **It was because of our little friend from last night.**_ ' Isobu replied and I felt a chill go down my spine when I thought back to my lookalike and how it tried to kill me. ' _ **It was messing with your chakra network and making your chakra split into three** **natures.**_ ' At the mention of natures, I remembered what Ao told me about possibly having a kekkei genkai and it got me curious of what it would be if I do have one. ' _ **That** **is why your chakra was unstable and you were unable to do the chakra exercises properly.**_ '

' _So it won't go unstable anymore?_ ' I asked nervously trying not to think of that ' _thing_ ' breaking free and going berserk again.

' _ **It won't.**_ ' Isobu said reassuringly and I couldn't help but jump up letting out a cheerful shout like a little kid at that. ' _ **However, since you haven't been able to practice control properly, you won't be able to walk on trees let alone water at the**_ **moment.** '

I groaned hanging my head in disappointment. ' _Way to rain on my parade Isobu._ ' It was then that I remembered something. ' _Wait, I still have a little control, right?_ '

' _ **Enough to keep a leaf on your forehead.**_ ' Isobu replied and I could hear the confusion in his voice. ' _ **Why?**_ '

' _I want to try something._ ' I looked around the sea rock and found a small boulder. "Perfect." I was starting to feel nervous so I took deep relaxing breaths before slowly weaving my hands in the tiger, ox, tiger, and rat hand signs before feeling my chakra gathering and kneading in my stomach. " _ **Water Style: Water Bomb** **Jutsu!**_ " I felt something climb it's way up my throat before a small trickle of water out of my mouth and down my chin. I sighed and used the back of my hand to wipe away the excess water. "Why did I honestly think that was going to work?"

' _ **You just need practice.**_ ' Isobu said reassuringly as I sat down when a sharp pain made itself known on my shoulder and I let out a hiss placing a hand on my shoulder before looking over to see that my kimono still had a hole where that Hanako woman's dagger dug itself into my shoulder stained with my blood. ' _ **I forgot you got hurt there, I'm sorry Kojiro.**_ '

"It's not your fault Isobu." I shook my head and removed my hand to see that my palm was covered in blood and I cringed at the sight. "It's still bleeding, I'm surprised I didn't die of blood loss yet." As if that was the trigger, I started to feel dizzy and my vision a little blurry before I felt my body hit the hard surface of the sea rock.

' _ **Kojiro!**_ ' I heard Isobu call out with worry etched in his voice as my eyelids started to feel heavy and wanting to be close. I tried to keep them open as I struggled to get back to a sitting position only for my arm to give way making me fall down again.

' _Damn it, did I piss off a god in my past life and this is their way of payback?_ ' I rolled so I was laying on my back and held my injured shoulder hoping that would at least stop the bleeding. ' _It won't stop bleeding, am I going to die like this?_ ' I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on my shoulder ignoring the pain that shot through my body. ' _I'm not going to die in a place like this!_ ' I relaxed my body and took deep breathes focusing my chakra to my hand. ' _I hope this works._ ' I looked to my hand that was on my shoulder and saw that it had a faint green hue covering it as the pain was slowly lessening.

' _ **Are you sure you should try that Kojiro?**_ ' Isobu asked worriedly as I continued to try to close the wound on my shoulder. ' _ **Even with that thing not getting in the way, you still don't have that much control over your chakra.**_ '

"Trust me Isobu." I said softly as the pain finally receded and the green hue left my hand and lifted it up to see that the bleeding has stopped and the wound has closed. I let out a relieved sigh and let my hand rest on my stomach as I looked up to the sky. "Crisis averted."

' _ **For now at least.**_ ' Isobu commented and I had to agree, when I checked my handy work again I saw that it was only a temporary fix before my wound opens and bleeds again at any minute leading me to bleed to death which made me shiver at the thought. ' _ **You should probably use the Yang portion of my chakra to heal the rest of it Kojiro.**_ '

I searched through my memories of my past life and found that Yang charka governs vitality and I remember that Kurama's Yang half was sealed in Naruto that heals his wounds almost immediately. A smile etched itself on my face and continued to look up to the sky watching the clouds float by. "It's your chakra Isobu, you're free to do with it however you want." Isobu said nothing and I saw what I think was steam in the corner of my eye and turned my head to see that it was coming from my shoulder. I watched in awe as the wound slowly got smaller before vanishing completely not even leaving a scar when I noticed that the steam was coming from my cheek too.

' _ **You also had a cut on your cheek.**_ ' Isobu explained as the steam stopped as I slowly got up to my feet and walked to the edge of the sea rock to look at my reflection. I turned my head left and right for any sign of the cut I got from that Hanako lady's game of Russian Roulette only to see no sign of it anywhere. ' _ **You should stay and rest some more though, you still lost a lot of blood.**_ '

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement and a growling sound made itself known and I looked down to my stomach. I sighed and sat down bringing my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "And I'm hungry, but there's nothing here I can use to fish or even a fire to cook it." As if to mock me, a fish jumped up into the air before splashing back into the water. "Damn fish, now I know how Sokka felt in Avatar."

' _ **I am guessing that this Sokka is a character in one of those animated stories you told me about?**_ ' Isobu asked in obvious confusion and fascination still trying to wrap his head around what I told him about cartoons and anime.

"Yeah." I nodded as more fish jumped up and back into the water. "And he was being taunted by a fish like I am now." My stomach growled again demanding food which I don't have and I groaned at that harsh reality. "If not by blood loss it's by starvation, either way I'm dead." I turned around so my back was facing the ocean as looking at the fish jumping wasn't helping with my situation. "Why can't I catch a break? Ever since mom and dad left for that stupid mission it was one disaster after another for me." I reached into my kimono again and pulled out two blood stained mist headbands and let my thumb brush against the wavy marks engraved on the cool metal as tears made their way down my cheeks. "I feel like the whole world is against me."

' _ **The world is not against you Kojiro.**_ ' I looked up and saw I was in my mindscape again with Isobu towering over me and a tail was gently patting me on the head in a consoling manner. It felt awkward having a hard, rough tail patting my head but I didn't complain and let him continue with it. " **You have suffered a lot yes, but it will only make you stronger when you overcome them and things will start looking up.** "

I held the headbands closer to my chest as I processed Isobu's words and I remembered the tarot reading Mrs. Shinomiya did for me and what my future held when she explained the Death card. ' _I must put the past behind me and parts ways with it to be ready to embrace new opportunities and possibilities._ ' I remember she said it would be difficult to let go of the past at times but I would soon see how important it is so that I bring renewal and transformation into my life. ' _She_ _also said I should welcome any changes_ _as a positive, cleansing, transformative force in my life._ ' I still don't understand what she meant by all of that, but I think my meeting with Isobu is what the cards meant by welcoming change in my life.

"Isobu?" I looked down to the headbands in my hands and gripped tightly on them. "Will I be able to become strong, strong enough so I can protect what's precious to me?" The image of my parents laying dead in a pool of their own blood keeps replaying in my head before I shook it off and remembered all the good times we spent together. "I don't want what happened to me happen to anybody else."

" **Being strong** **is abstract and can mean anything, Kojiro.** " I looked up to Isobu and tilted my head to the side in confusion. Isobu saw my confusion and elaborated. " **Is being physically strong what you want? Or is it you want to be mentally strong or even have strong willpower? any one of these three can be defined as being strong.** " He removed his tail from my head and submerged it in the water putting it under me and raised me up so I can look him in the eye. " **It is up to you what you think being strong is about and how you want to use that strength. I'll support you in any way I can as your friend, Kojiro.** "

Isobu's words echoed inside my head as I thought over what kind of strength I wanted. It's true that I want to be strong, but I also wanted to help people so they wouldn't have to suffer. That's part of the reason why I studied medicine in my past life and decided to be a medical ninja in this life, so that I can help tend to the sick and injured and relieve at least a little of their pain. The more I think about it, the more I'm unsure of what to do. I looked to my parents' headbands again keeping my eyes on the metal plates and not the blood soaked cloth so as to not relive the memory of _that_ night. I gritted my teeth when I still couldn't remember the faces or voices of the people who killed my parents, took me from Mrs. Shinomiya's house, and sealed Isobu inside me. I thought back to when Mrs. Shinomiya told me about my mother and father's dreams when she asked me what my dream was.

' _A medical ninja as great as Tsunade and to wield one of the seven swords of the mist._ ' I ran my thumb over the engraved wave marks on the metal plates. The dry blood felt dry to the touch and stained the black cloth red leaving no chance of it being washed off. When I look at the headbands, I'm reminded that I'm not a teenager anymore, I'm just a six-year-old boy who can't defend himself in this dangerous world. ' _What kind of strength do I want?_ '

" **You are still young Kojiro.** " I looked up from the headbands to Isobu. " **There is no need to worry about being strong right now, just enjoy your youth for now until you decide what strength you want.** " He placed me on his head and patted my head gently with his tail again. " **When you have decided, that is when you have the answer to your answer.** " I just nodded putting away my parents' headbands deciding to think about another day. " **Now, about your hunger problem, I could use my coral to guide the fish closer for you to catch.** "

"But I can't cook them without a fire." I reminded Isobu as I watch him take over my body and started to create walls of coral in in a ring shape around the sea rock I was resting on making new walls to make the ring smaller until the fish could only swim in shallow water around the sea rock. "And I don't have anything I can use to gut them and remove their scales." Isobu grabbed a few fish and I watched as the flopped around before they went still.

" **You can leave gutting and descaling the fish to me.** " Isobu said as he created what I think was a knife out of coral which surprised me that he can make something like that. I then watched as Isobu sat down in front of the small pile of fish and began to descale the fish that he caught before gutting them which made me a bit nauseous when Isobu pulled out their innards with my bare hands. Isobu laid down his makeshift knife and the last fish before standing up. " **They should be ready to be cooked now.** "

"There's still the fire problem though." I pointed out as I got over my nauseousness. "There's no wood to start one and nothing to hold the fish around the fire." Before I knew it I was in control of my body again and I looked at my hands that was still covered in fish blood and quickly ran to the edge of the sea rock to wash my hands in the sea water. "I guess you did all this for nothing Isobu."

" **You can use your chakra.** " Isobu suggested as I flicked my wrists to get the excess water off my hands. " **You have a fire nature, don't you?** " I paused at that before face palming when I realized Isobu was right, I did have a fire nature. " **You should have enough control to make a small fire and cook the fish.** "

"Even so..." I was interrupted when my stomach growled demanding food and I looked to the fish the Isobu prepped for me. "Ah screw it, might as well try." I made the tiger sign and started to gather and knead my chakra in my stomach before blowing out a thin stream of fire on the fish being careful not to burn them. It was incredibly difficult to control my chakra, but I was able to keep it at a low power so it stayed small and not get big and out of control.

After a few minutes, I felt that I was running low on chakra and stopped blowing fire to see that the fish have been fully cooked being a bit burnt around the edges. I took one of the fish by the tail and started to eat them before they got cold. When I ate my fill, I let out a loud burp rubbing my belly with a smile on my face. "That hit the spot."

" **Are you ready to get to dry land now, Kojiro?** " I nodded at Isobu's question and allowed him to take over as he broke the coral walls he made before jumping in the water and started to swim again. " **What are you going to do first when we reach land?** "

"I guess I should start by looking for somewhere to stay now that I have nowhere to go." I said softly as I thought of how I can't go back to my home in the Land of Water because I would die for supposedly having a kekkei genkai and that there's a chance the people who took me are still there. "But the question is where I should go?"

" **How about the hidden leaf?** " Isobu suggested which surprised me. " **From what you told me about your past life, it is best to go there than the other villages.** "

"That's true." I muttered when I thought over what Isobu's suggestion. ' _It's true I'll have a better chance of surviving if I go to the leaf village. It's certainly better than going to the hidden cloud or hidden stone, and I should probably avoid the hidden sand so I won't get killed by Gaara._ ' I paused at that thought and groaned in realization. ' _In other words, the hidden leaf is my only choice._ '

" **Is something wrong Kojiro?** " Isobu's question snapped me out of my thoughts. " **You have been quiet for a while, what is on your mind?** "

"Just thinking over my options, Isobu." I replied making ripples in the dark water with my foot. "After thinking about it, the leaf is my only option." I sighed as I began to list my reasons for that conclusion. "If I do have a kekkei genkai, then the hidden cloud will just use me like a breeding animal. I don't even want to think what the hidden stone will do to me if I enter their border, especially if they learn about you. And if I'm right, then I would most likely die by the hands of the hidden sand's jinchuriki."

" **Hmm, yes, I can see how you ended with that conclusion.** " Isobu said humming in thought. " **And you can't go back the the hidden mist for obvious reasons. What do you want to do?** "

"Isn't it obvious?" I smirked when I noticed that Isobu was approaching land and we swapped places when he got out of the water. "We're going to the hidden leaf."

* * *

 **Now to reply to your reviews, which is my favorite thing to do for it is because of your support that I have made it this far.**

 **Blueowl : I am also glad he got away. It might not be perfect, but it's progress in mastering Isobu's chakra. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter like the others.**

 **SilverDragon1218 : Yes, I apologize for the confusion. Yes, it is sad that our young protagonist can't seem to catch a break. You want to know the Kurosawa clan's secret? Well... it's a secret for a reason, you will just have to find out by reading. Hear that Kojiro? SilverDragon is cheering you on!**

 **Luckyshot8** **: That is so true, chakra can be strong depending how you use it. When you consider who Kojiro was and the circumstances with Naruto and Kurama, it's understandable why Kojiro befriended his taled beast faster than Naruto.**

 **Oblivious ninja IJ** **: I bet Isobu is happy to hear you say that.**

 **guest** **reader** **: Now that you mention it, it kinda does. Wow, talk about coincidence.**

 **EnigmaticHufflepuff** **: I am happy to hear that you loved it and I hope the wait was worth it. Did you call me sensei? Oh yeah, writers in japan are called sensei, right?**

 **With that I bid you all adieu until the next act in our production of A New Life in Naruto.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Welcome to the long awaited performance my dear readers! First off, I'd like to apologize for the long wait. I had most of the script completed but struggled to decide how I wanted it to end and it wasn't until I read one of your reviews that inspiration hit me so an enormous shout-out to Shinonom for it was your review that assisted in the completion of this next act. Now may the curtain rise and the next act of our story begin!**

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Chapter Twelve: The Kurosawa Clan

After leaving the beach that Isobu brought me to, I immediately began my trek into the woods hoping to find a path I can follow to the nearest village so I can have an idea where I am and probably find a place that will take me in for the night so I can get proper rest. It was taking longer than I would like to get through the woods because the hem and sleeves of my kimono kept getting caught in bushes and low tree branches when I push them out of the way.

" _ **Kojiro, maybe you should take a**_ **break.** " Isobu suggested after my sleeve got caught in a bush for sixth time in a row. " _ **You have been walking nonstop ever since you left that beach.**_ "

"A break does sound good right about now." I said in agreement as I found a stump and proceeded to unceremoniously flop on it releasing an exasperated sigh. I looked down to my aching bare feet and cringed at how much dirt and sand clung to them. "I need to find a river or something, I went who knows how many days without taking a bath." I brought several strands of my hair in front of me and had a look of disgust when I saw that my usually soft spiky hair was now not only still soaked from the sea water but also smelled like dead fish. I sighed letting go of my hair to let it go back to hanging behind me resting my hands on the stump as I leaned back to stare at the sky through the gaps in the trees. ' _Is it too much to ask for something good to happen to me?_ '

" _ **I believe the saying 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' applies to what you have been through, Kojiro.**_ " Isobu said in my mindscape as a single leaf fell off a branch and slowly fell under my nose tickling it causing me to sneeze. " _ **Give it time and I am sure that good fortune will soon follow the bad.** "_

' _I hope you're right, Isobu._ ' I said mentally picking up the leaf placing it on my lips holding it in place with my index and middle fingers and closed my eyes as I blew into the leaf creating a high-pitched sound that echoed through the forest that surrounds me. ' _Huh, i_ _t actually worked._ ' I began to change how I held the leaf as I blew into it thus changing the pitch that's created until I started making my own melody. As I listened to the melody I was creating, I felt relaxed and in peace, almost like everything was just a long dream. ' _This sounds nice, almost makes me forget what I've been through._ '

The song seems to have a life of it's own as on some parts were filled with warmth and joy while others were filled with pain and sorrow. My eyes started to sting with tears when the melody took on a sadder sound but kept them in and continued playing. It was then that I realized that the song was reflecting off my memories of my life, from the times I was really happy to the times I was really sad, when I felt the warmth of my parents when they held me for the first time to the aching pain in my heart from seeing them laying on the ground soaked in their own blood and knowing that I'll never feel that warmth again.

As I continued to relive every moment of my new and previous lives, I could feel Isobu's chakra flow through my body as a form of comfort that made me feel safe and secure and that he would always be there for me which I'm grateful for. When the song finally reached it's end, I lowered the leaf from my lips wiping away the tears that managed to slip through my eyelids and down my face.

" _ **There is no need to hold back your tears, Kojiro.**_ " Isobu said softly as his chakra created a red shroud around me and a wide, flat tail gently wrapped itself around my body. " _ **It is not good for you to bottle up your emotions. It is okay, let it all out.**_ " Just like a dam breaking, my tears started to flow nonstop as I let out all the emotions that I had bottle up ever since leaving the Land of Water. Grief over the death of my parents, the frustration that I can't remember who killed them, and fear of nearly dying on the ship I was on. As I sobbed letting everything I held back out in the open, Isobu let his chakra act like a warm comforting hug. After what felt like hours of grieving, my sobs turned to sniveling as I began to calm down. " _ **Do you feel better now, Kojiro?**_ "

I nodded wiping away the remnants of my tears from my most likely red and puffy eyes I did felt better after letting everything out, like an enormous weight was lifted from my shoulders, and I was grateful that Isobu was with me giving comfort as I was reduced to a sobbing mess. "I'm fine now, thanks Isobu."

" _ **Anytime.**_ " I got off the stump I was sitting on and continued my trek through the forest hoping to find a town or at least a path I could follow. As I got farther in the forest, my mind would wander to back to when those two people attempted to kidnap me and were talking about a clan I supposedly belong to.

' _The Kurosawa Clan._ ' I shuddered when I remembered my encounter with my scaly lookalike in my mindscape and what it said to me about not being worthy of the Kurosawa name. ' _Is that thing connected in some way?_ ' I finally found a path and began to follow it ignoring when my bare feet would occasionally step on a rock. ' _Why didn't dad tell me anything?_ '

" _ **He probably wanted to wait until you were older.**_ " Isobu suggested and I nodded in agreement as it does make sense but it doesn't explain why someone would be after a member of the Kurosawa Clan.

The more I think about my supposed clan, the more I want to know about it and the only person who could tell me is now gone. The only things I know is that all members has blue hair and an affinity for water jutsu, which tells me absolutely nothing about what the clan was. I was so lost in my thoughts, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings until my face slammed right into something.

"Ow." I backed away holding my aching nose looking up to what I walked into to see a worn out wall. "What the? What's a wall doing here?" I looked around and noticed that the wall seems to cover a large area. "Question two; what's behind this wall?"

" _ **Perhaps we will get an answer if we find a way inside.**_ " Isobu suggested and I began to follow along the wall to see if I can find an entrance to see what was behind it.

"This wall looks really old." I muttered as I walked along the wall with my hand against it inspecting the cracks and scorch marks along it's surface. "There was probably a battle here years ago." I stopped walking when I finally found an entrance and peeked inside to see that on the other side of the wall was many destroyed houses and buildings. "A village?"

" _ **The remains of one to be exact.**_ " Isobu said as I entered the ruined village walking by the many collapsed buildings.

"This silence is kinda creeping me out." I said nervously as I warily looked inside each ruined building I passed when I noticed something. "Hold on." I walked in the building I was currently looking in and saw that it was less ruined like the other buildings. On the wall in the back of the building was a circle and inside it was a lotus flower with a ying-yang symbol in the center. "Could this be this village's symbol?"

" _ **It's likely.**_ " Isobu said as I got closer to the mark on the wall and when I reached out to touch it the wall seemed to have been pushed back before sliding to the side to reveal a room on the other side. " _ **A secret room, good work finding it Kojiro.**_ "

"But, I didn't even touch it." I said in confusion looking at my outstretched hand then to the newly discovered room before walking in. The room was completely dark making it hard to see but I can still tell that it was empty inside, there wasn't even any other doors or windows. "I don't get it, why make a secret room if there's nothing in here?" As if to answer my question, when I took a step forward, the room started to shake as the center of the floor sunk and split open before a pedestal rose up with a chest that had the same lotus symbol on it. "A chest?"

" _ **We should see what's inside, it might tell us what happened in this village.**_ " I nodded in agreement and opened the lid to see that there was a scroll inside with a red string tied around it.

I took the scroll out of the chest and untied the string before unfurling it to read what was inside. "If you are a member of the Kurosawa Clan, then I am relieved that it was you who found this scroll and no one else." My eyes widened at the mention of the Kurosawa Clan and continued reading. "This scroll holds our clan's history and most guarded secret. This secret has been passed down to the head of the clan for many generations and if it were to fall in the wrong hands could spell the end of the world as we know it." My grip on the scroll tightened when I read that part and my curiosity about my clan rose to new heights. "Many years ago, our clan's ancestors discovered that the boys born into the clan will develop a unique ability."

" _ **A unique ability?**_ " I could practically hear the confusion in Isobu's voice. " _ **What unique ability could it be?**_ "

"Hold on, let me keep reading." I said as I unfurled more of the scroll. "This ability only makes itself known when the child has reached six or seven years of age where they would experience random cases of severe headaches for unknown reasons. It was soon discovered that these headaches occur due to the awakening of our clan's kekkei genkai." My eyes widened again at the mention of a kekkei genkai and I remembered what Ao told me about possibly having one. "When the child loses consciousness, scales begin to form on their body and they become violent and ferocious attacking anything that moves." I dropped the scroll and backed away from it, afraid to read the rest when I remembered my encounter with my lookalike in my mindscape.

" _ **Don't be scared, Kojiro.**_ " I felt Isobu's chakra flow through my body again to comfort me and my fear slowly faded away knowing that the three-tailed turtle was with me. " _ **That thing can't hurt you or anyone anymore, you're completely safe.**_ "

After my fear was completely gone I mentally thanked Isobu before going to pick up the scroll to read the rest of what was inside. "The scales act as armor for they were harder than steel, their teeth becomes fangs that can inject a deadly poison, and they gain immense physical strength that can shatter boulders. We had no choice but to imprison them when they became too much for us to handle until we could find a way to help regain their sanity. We started to lose hope for the boys who have lost themselves to their kekkei genkai and feared that it would be the end for our clan when a member of the Uzumaki Clan stumbled upon our previous village in the Land of Water." I nearly dropped the scroll again only this time in shock when the words 'Uzumaki Clan' left my mouth. "When she have learned of our plight, she developed a kind of seal before placing them on the boys and they all slowly began to regain their senses."

I let out a sigh in relief knowing that a solution was found for my fellow clansmen and gave my thanks to whoever gave them that solution. Though I frowned when I remembered the scroll mentioning a 'previous village' in the Land of Water. ' _Why did they leave the Land of Water and made a new village here?_ '

" _ **Perhaps the scroll will have the answers if you keep reading.**_ " Isobu suggested and I unfurled more the scroll only to be disappointed when it came up blank. " _ **Blank?**_ "

"That can't be it." I muttered under my breath unfurling the scroll desperately looking for more until I couldn't anymore and fell to my knees when it truly was blank from where I stopped. "There has to be more, there just has to!" Then I remembered the chest and went to it to see if I possibly missed something that might tell me more about the Kurosawa Clan's history. I checked for a false bottom on the chest or maybe even a storage seal or two but found nothing inside that could hide another scroll. I let out a sigh of disappointment placing the chest back on the pedestal only to lift it back up and smiled when I found that the pedestal had lines on it in a rectangular shape. "Very clever."

" _ **What's clever?**_ " Isobu asked as I placed the chest down on the ground before placing my fingers where the smaller lines were and lifted it up to revealed that the pedestal was where another scroll was hiding. I picked up the scroll and untied the string that was tied around it and I could feel Isobu nodding his head in understanding. " _ **Clever indeed, hiding the scroll where possible thieves would never think to look.**_ "

"Well, time to find out what happened." I said as I unfurled the scroll in read aloud. "The Uzumaki explained that the seal she used would suppress the violence and ferocity until the boys learned to control it themselves and our ancestors were forever grateful for what she did that the clan relocated to the Land of Fire to act as the Uzumaki Clan's protectors." I frowned when I noticed some splotches of red on the scroll and I had a good idea of what was written next "Alas, we failed when some of the world's nations banded together to destroy Hidden Eddy Village, believing the Uzumaki Clan was too powerful to be allowed to continue."

' _I knew it._ ' I bit the bottom of my lip when I now knew that the red splotches was in fact blood but continued reading. "Their forces were too great for our clan, even for those of us who have mastered our kekkei genkai, and overwhelmed us. As my last act as head of the clan, I evacuated the women and children back to the Land of Water where they would be safe and went to the Hidden Eddy Village so I can at least protect the Uzumaki Clan's secrets by taking all of their fūinjutsu and hidden them where only a member of the Kurosawa Clan will be able to retrieve them."

" _ **Could that be the secret the previous scroll mentioned?**_ " Isobu questioned.

"Maybe." I replied rereading what I already read to make sure I didn't miss anything. "The Uzumaki Clan was both respected and feared for their skill in fūinjutsu, so it makes sense that if those skills fall in the wrong hands could mean the end of the world if used right." I shuddered at the thought of a world-wide massacre with just a single seal before shaking that thought out of my head and went back to reading the scroll. "My hope is that someone would one day put an end to all the fighting and that there will be peace."

Again the scroll was blank from there, but I knew that I won't find any more even if I tore this entire room apart if those last words were any indication. I rolled up the scroll and tied the string back in place before doing the same to the scroll I left on the ground and held them in my arms as I walked out of the hidden room leaving the building to explore the other houses in the abandoned village. As I explored the village that my clan called home, I found some clothes that were my size and in surprisingly good condition under a pile of rubble as well as a hot spring.

" _ **Are you perhaps thinking of taking a bath Kojiro?**_ " Isobu asked as I approached the hot spring and dipped a foot in to test the water to see it was the right temperature for me.

"Best to be clean when I get to the next town." I replied removing my hair stick and hair band and pulling out my parents' headbands from the folds of my kimono gently setting them aside as I started to take off my kimono. I slowly lowered myself into the water and let out a long, content sigh as the heat worked it's magic to warm up my body. "I almost forgot how nice a hot bath can feel."

" _ **What are you going to do about those scrolls Kojiro?**_ " I looked to the aforementioned scrolls contemplating what I should do with them. " _ **They didn't disclose the location of the Uzumaki Clan's** **fūinjutsu was hidden, but there might be more than what meets the eye about those scrolls.**_ "

"You're probably right, Isobu." I said as I thought back to what was written in those scrolls. It's true that they didn't have the location written on them, but that's only if you look at it at face value. There might be more hidden in them that I just can't see and that was when I made my decision. "I'm going to hold on to them. They hold my clan's history and I can't even think of throwing them away." I lowered myself deeper in the water so it was up to my neck as I stared up into the sky watching how it turned a brilliant shade of orange as the sun sets. "Plus, there might be more to those scrolls that I haven't figured out yet."

" _ **Do you think it has something to do with why the last parts were blank?**_ " I nodded getting out of the water after I deemed myself clean and started putting on the clothes that I found which were a simple white shirt with the circle, lotus, and ying-yang symbol on the front which I think is the Kurosawa Clan's symbol, brown shorts, and a pair of sandals. " _ **Are you sure you should wear those clothes? There's no telling what-**_ "

"I'll be fine, Isobu." I said reassuringly folding my kimono and setting it aside knowing that I probably won't be able to wear it again because of the blood stains and tears on it. "I appreciate your concern, but I want to wear them." I looked down to lotus symbol on the shirt and placed a hand over it carefully as if my touch is all it would take to make it disappear. "I just learned that I'm part of a clan and I want to have proof of that fact, even if said proof is just a shirt that I found buried under a pile of rubble." I picked up my hair stick and hairband and began to tie my hair in its usual spiky ponytail before reaching for my parents' headbands.

"You there!" I froze at the sudden voice but didn't dare to turn around to see who it was. "What are you doing here?" When I heard the sounds of footsteps getting closer, I quickly grabbed the headbands and the scrolls and ran from the person behind me as fast as I could. "Wait!"

I ignored the person, who I think was a man from how deep their voice was, and focused on running not even looking back to see if he was coming after me. I knew he was following me when I heard his footsteps again, only this time they were getting closer much faster and that made me fear what would happen if he caught me. ' _Isobu, HELP!_ '

" _ **Just keep running, Kojiro!**_ " Deciding to trust the three-tailed turtle, I kept running barely missing the steam that was seemingly coming out of my body that quickly covered the area making it difficult to see where I was going. When the sound of footsteps started to get distant, I jumped into a bush making sure to stay completely still as I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. " _ **Stay where you are until my mist clears, he should be gone by then.**_ "

I nodded in understanding placing a hand over my mouth and nose to prevent any sound from coming out of them. ' _Why was someone there? It was just a destroyed village, there isn't anything of value there except the scrolls I have._ ' My eyes looked down to the aforementioned scrolls that were in my free arm with my parents' headbands and tightened my grip on them. I stayed hidden in the bushes for who knows how long contemplating what that man wanted in the destroyed village. ' _Could he be looking for clues to where the Uzumaki Clan's_ fūinjutsu is hidden _?_ '

"Found you!" A startled yell found its way out of my mouth when a hand tightly gripped my shoulder and I closed my eyes tightening my hold on the items in my arms when I was turned to face the man that ran after me. I was confused when he did nothing else to me but I didn't dare open my eyes or loosen my hold on the headbands and scrolls in my arms. "Open your eyes." That was clearly an order and not wanting to know what would happen to me if I refused I slowly opened my eyes looking into a pair of red eyes with three tomoe in each. "Good. Now, tell me, what was a kid like doing in that village earlier?"

I don't know why, but I felt fear well up in inside me when I look into those red eyes that I wasn't able to take in the other features of the person in front of me and wanted to be anywhere but here. He probably noticed my fear as his red eyes turned pitch black and I began to calm down enough to get a good look at the person in front of me. What got my attention was that on his forehead was the leaf headband and he looked really young, probably a teenager give or take a year or two, he had short, unkempt, dark-colored hair, obvious black eyes and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes. He was wearing a dark colored long-sleeved shirt with matching pants and a green flak jacket.

My eyes widened when I recognized who was waiting for an answer and couldn't believe it despite the proof literally looking me in the eye. ' _What's he doing all the way here?! Shouldn't he be in the leaf village right now?!_ '

" _ **Do you know him, Kojiro?**_ " Isobu asked in confusion.

' _I'll tell you later, Isobu._ ' I mentally replied before speaking out loud acting like the scared and confused child I should be. "I was told never to talk to strangers."

"Well, it is true that you shouldn't talk to strangers." The teen admitted nodding in agreement to what I said before letting go of my shoulder. "How about this, I tell you my name and you tell me yours. If we do that then we won't be strangers anymore, do you want to do that?" I eyed him suspiciously and slowly relaxed when I didn't spot any signs of deceit before nodding my head. "My name is Shisui Uchiha, and what's your name?"

Assuming he wanted my full name, I looked down to the symbol that was on my new shirt before looking back to Shisui. "Kojiro Kurosawa."

"Did you say Kurosawa?" Shisui asked raising an eyebrow looking in the direction of the village before looking back to me with his eyes lingering on my hair. "Are you perhaps a surviving member of the Kurosawa Clan?" When I nodded my head Shisui placed his hands on my shoulders again giving me this serious look that made me tense. "How old are you?"

I was confused as to why Shisui wanted to know my age, but then I remembered what I read in the scrolls about my clan's kekkei genkai. "I turned six a few days ago."

"Did you have any headaches recently?" Again I nodded when Shisui seemed to realize something and started to look around the area. "Where are your parents? They should have prevented that from happening." My hold on the scrolls and my parents' headbands tightened again and I lowered my head when I felt tears welling up in my eyes again. Shisui probably saw the blood covered headbands because he removed his hands from my shoulders. "I see, my condolences."

Even though he wasn't holding me in place anymore I didn't run because I knew it was pointless to run from 'Shisui the Teleporter' and I couldn't even if I wanted to as the grief returned stronger than ever that made me fall to my knees and sobs tore from my throat. I can feel that Isobu was concerned about me but I stopped him from letting his chakra flow through my body mentally telling him that I'm fine now but didn't lift my head to look up to the Uchiha in front of me.

"Do you live anywhere near here?" Shisui asked softly and I shook my head. "Is there anyone who can take care of you?" Again I shook my head and Shisui fell silent probably thinking on what to do about me. Shisui held out a hand to me and I finally looked up to him in confusion. "If that's the case, then why don't you come with me?"

My eyes widened in shock that he offered to take me with him even though we just met. ' _Did he really say what I think he said?_ '

" _ **He did.**_ " Isobu said confirming that I didn't hear the Uchiha wrong. I bit my lower lip debating what I should do. " _ **You should accept his offer, Kojiro. We were planning to go to the leaf village anyway and with him around the chances of you getting there safely are much higher.**_ " I couldn't argue with that since it was true that my chances of survival go up by a high percentage if I go with the Uchiha waiting patiently for my answer. After further debating with Isobu, I made my decision and nodded to Shisui.

"Alright then." Shisui nodded reaching for the items in my arms but I held them closer to my body protectively and Shisui held up his hands. "Relax, I was only going to seal them in a scroll." He pulled out said scroll from his flak jacket as proof placing it down to the ground unfurling it to show that it was blank. "Those are obviously precious to you, so sealing them will make carrying them easier."

' _That's true._ ' I mentally admitted thinking that losing any of the scrolls or headbands in my arms was out of the question. Reluctantly, I placed the items on the scroll as Shisui started weaving hand signs too fast for my eyes to keep up before slamming his hand to the ground and the scrolls and headbands vanished in a puff of smoke being replaced with inscriptions on the scroll that wasn't there before. I looked at the scroll in awe at seeing an actual sealing in person as Shisui rolled it up and ties a string around it.

Shisui seemed amused by my obvious awe as he was chuckling handing me the scroll. "Here, be sure not to lose it." I nodded taking the scroll from the Uchiha who turned his back to me and crouched down. "Hop on, it'll be faster if I carried you." Being mentally older than I looked, I was embarrassed that someone had to give me a piggyback ride. Nonetheless, I climbed onto his back and he placed his arms under my legs to make sure I didn't fall before standing up. "Ready?"

' _This is so mortifying._ ' I thought knowing that my face was flushed with embarrassment but nodded anyway only to let out a startled yell when he suddenly jumped up to a tree and began to jump from branch to branch. I shut my eyes with one hand tightly holding onto Shisui's shoulder while the other was holding the scroll close to my body as to not lose it. After getting over my surprise, I slowly opened my eyes and was amazed as everything seem to just blur passed us and how my hair seemed to be floating behind me. ' _Amazing, it's like we're flying._ '

" _ **And with training you can do this too, Kojiro.**_ " Isobu pointed out and I knew he was right. Just thinking of doing stuff like this got me even more excited to start training despite knowing the dangers that come with being a ninja.

' _A little danger isn't going to scare me._ ' I thought looking at the back of Shisui's head remembering his and his entire clan's fate before shaking my head of that thought. ' _Even if my body is that of a child, I'll do everything I can to save as many lives as possible._ '

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed our performance for it is now time to reply to your reviews.**

 **Oblivious** **IJ** **: No, I haven't forgotten about the pedo, though he shouldn't be problem until the chunin exams at least. Only time will tell what the outcome of their meeting could be. Now there's an idea, I'll have to consider that as I continue to write.**

 **Luckyshot8** **: While I agree with you that Kojiro should practice his chakra control now that nothing is messing with it, let's take things slow and not make him too OP right off the bat.**

 **Blueowl** **: Indeed, who knows what would happen if Isobu didn't isolate the problem. I'm glad you liked the bonding time I wrote.**

 **SilverDragon1218** **: Yes, their on their way to the Leaf and Kojiro now has added protection other than Isobu. It is comforting and I was more than happy to write that. If you want to know how Kojiro became Isobu's jinchuriki, then please read the first part of chapter eight to find out. They'll have to find out first and who knows how long Kojiro can keep it hidden.**

 **oshietenaruto** **: The probability of that happening is very high. Yes, he knows that naruhina is canon and will most likely try to hook them up. I'll leave that to your imagination.**

 **ryder5012** **: Glad to hear you thought it was good and interesting. I'll do my best with each update.**

 **thepowerfullkira** **: I'll leave that to your imagination. ;)**

 **Shinonom** **:** **I'm happy to hear that you loved it. I'll see what I can come up with about Shisui and the Uchiha's, no promises though. Yeah, there's not enough of that which I find a little unfair to Isobu. I'm happy that I made your day. Thank you for pointing that out and I'll try to slow it down a little and put in more detail. I hope that the wait was well worth it and that you'll tolerate more patience for my next update.**

 **Waffenmia** **: Thank you for reminding me that I still need to think of someone to pair Kojiro with. Sakura is a maybe, but I'm not going to make any final decisions on that just yet.**

 **jgxx01** **: Hope the wait was well worth it and I look forward to hearing from you again.**

 **guest reader** **: Most likely not as knowing Naruto's personality wouldn't find it amazing at all. Naruto using fuinjutsu secretly is something that I'll have to think about.**

 **sarahgri99** **: Glad you thought it was amazing and I hope you thought the same of this chapter. Well, I hope you can be patient a little while longer.**

 **With that over and done with, I bid you all adieu until the next time we raise the curtain for the continuation of "A New Life in Naruto?!"**


	14. Chapter 13

**It's time for another chapter of New Life in Naruto?! XD**

 **First off, I'd like to apologize to the long update, you know how life can be. Anyway, I'm back and ready to give new chapters to you, my beloved readers, who bared with me all this time. Know that your patience has now been rewarded with a new chapter with more on their way!**

 **But enough of that, I know you must be itching to get to reading, so who am I to stop you? Read and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Arrival at Destination

It has been a week since Shisui Uchiha found me in the ruined village of the Kurosawa Clan and decided to take me with him back to the Hidden Leaf village. We didn't say anything to each other throughout that week aside from small talk. Well, to be more accurate, Shisui did the talking while I just listened because I didn't trust him yet and didn't know what to say to him. I know I have no reason to not trust him, but I couldn't for some reason. Whenever I look into those pitch black orbs, fear seems to tightly grip at my heart and wouldn't let go. Even though I never talked to him, I still helped him when we set up camp by using my chakra to light the campfire, soften the ground so it was more comfortable to sleep on, or pull fresh water from the air when his back was turned. Isobu suggested it thinking it would be good practice for my chakra control and for when I start training in the future.

Naturally, Shisui was suspicious about all of this, but shrugged it off probably thinking I made a spark with the wood and found a river near where we set up camp. It was a relief that Shisui didn't seem to suspect that I was actually using my chakra to do all that. I didn't want to reveal that I can use two different chakra natures let alone three just yet. I tried to avoid using my earth nature very often out of fear that Shisui would get suspicious that we keep "conveniently" finding a clearing with soft soil to set up camp.

I was currently riding piggyback as Shisui jumped from one tree branch to the other occasionally stopping to rest. As the scenery flew by me, my thoughts would wander back to when I first met Shisui and the unexplained fear that welled up inside me. I don't know why, but I was really scared of Shisui's Sharingan when I saw them. Was it because I knew what they were capable of that scares me? Or was it Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan that scares me? No matter what I think of to explain my fear, it always sounds wrong to me.

"We should camp here for the night." Shisui's voice brought me out of my thoughts as he crouched down for me to climb off his back before pulling out a scroll from his flak jacket. I didn't pay attention to what he was doing as I was looking around to see that we were in a clearing surrounded by trees and the sky was a brilliant shade of orange from the setting sun.

' _I should probably go find some firewood._ ' I looked back to Shisui to see that he was setting up a tent that was probably sealed in the scroll he had. I bit my lower lip anxiously before going to the nearest tree to find some fallen branches being sure that I was still within Shisui's field of vision. ' _What's wrong with me? It's been a week and I haven't said a single word to him._ '

" _ **Kojiro, is something bothering you?**_ " Isobu asked curiously as I went deeper into the woods when I couldn't find any fallen branches.

' _I don't know, Isobu._ ' I mentally replied with a troubled look on my face picking up any branches I managed to find as well as some decently sized stones to make a fire pit so the fire doesn't get out of control. ' _I just can't seem to say anything to Shisui ever since we left that ruined village. I can't even look him in the eye._ '

Isobu hummed in thought leaving me to my own thoughts after I deemed I had enough sticks and stones before walking back to the clearing. " _ **It might be because of nervousness. It has been a while since you interacted with someone for more than a day.**_ "

' _I'm not sure that's the problem._ ' I thought as I processed what Isobu suggested what was wrong with me. ' _It's true that Shisui's the first person I was with for more than a day since..._ ' I quickly shook my head when my thoughts were going down a depressing direction. ' _But it doesn't explain why I'm having trouble trusting him despite knowing he's not a bad person._ '

" _ **Give it time.**_ " Isobu advised as I spotted the clearing where Shisui is. " _ **You'll be able to trust him eventually.**_ "

I sighed when Isobu's advice didn't really help that much with my dilemma about why I'm having trust issues all of a sudden. ' _I'll try to have a conversation with him, maybe if I do that it'll help._ '

When I got back to the clearing, I saw that Shisui was scratching the back of his head with a confused look on his face until he eyes landed on me and crossed his arms. "There you are, where were you?" I showed him the sticks and stones in my arms and his face showed surprise. "Did you went to get those?" When I nodded he let out a sigh before walking over to me and crouched down to look me in the eye and I fought off the urge to look the other way. "Next time, tell me when you're going to look for firewood. I thought something happened to you."

"I'm sorry." I apologized, lowering my head feeling bad that I worried him. I felt a hand rest on my head and I looked up to Shisui to see that he had a small smile on his face.

"At least you're okay, that's all that matters." He moved his hand from my head to the sticks in my arms and took them before standing up. "Why don't we set up the fire now? it gets pretty chilly at night." I nodded and went to work using the stones I picked up to make a fire pit before Shisui positioned the sticks in it and reached into his flack jacket pulling out a piece of flint which confused me.

' _What's he going to do with that?_ ' I mentally wondered as I watched Shisui pull out a kunai and began to strike it against the flint to create sparks. It took a few tries, but the fire came to life and instantly warmed me up which made me realize how cold I was. ' _Why didn't he use a fire jutsu?_ '

" _ **Probably to preserve his chakra in case you are attacked.**_ " Isobu guessed and a shiver went down my spine at the thought of being attacked in the middle of the woods. Shisui probably saw me shiver and thought I was cold because he started to gently nudge me closer to the fire and sat me down. " _ **Kojiro, what are your plans for when we reach the leaf village?**_ "

' _To be honest, I have no clue._ ' I replied honestly relishing in how warm the fire was making me feel right now. ' _Since Shisui's still alive, I guess the first thing would be to stop the Uchiha Massacre from happening_.' I looked down at my hands instantly reminding me that I'm nothing more than a child now. ' _But how can I? I'm only a kid and adults never listen to what a child has to say, so warning them is not going to work._ '

" _ **Do not forget that you have me to help.**_ " Isobu pointed out and I could feel him moving about in my mindscape. " _ **You just need to learn to use my chakra properly, then you will be able to do what other shinobi are capable of.**_ "

Our mental conversation was cut short when a metal mug was handed to me and I followed the arm to the side to see Shisui sitting next to me. "Drink up, it's only water but it's better than nothing."

I looked back to the mug before taking with both of my hands and shyly smiled to Shisui. "Thank you." He just nodded before getting another mug while I drank out of mine.

We said nothing to each other as we listened to the crackling of the fire and I couldn't help but think back to when I was on that sea rock and cooked the fish Isobu caught for me by using my chakra. I remembered that I have fire, water, and earth natures with water being my affinity and the speculation that I have a kekkei genkai other than the Kurosawa Clan's.

' _Since I have fire and water_.' I thought as I watch the smoke rising from the fire up to the sky before it disperses. ' _Does that mean I can mix them to form Vapor Style?_ '

" _ **Let us wait for Shisui to fall asleep to see if it is true.**_ " Isobu suggested and I gave a small nod in agreement casting a side glance to Shisui who was cautiously scanning his surroundings with narrowed eyes. His features soon softened which could mean that he didn't sense any immediate danger near us which was a relief. " _ **This is your chance to talk to him, you did say you were going to.**_ "

' _I know._ ' I sighed mentally casting another nervous side glance to Shisui who threw a few branches into the fire to keep it burning. My eyes went from Shisui to the fire and I watched how it seems to have a life of its own as the flames lick the wood it was burning like it was an animal handed a treat before rising up out of pure joy. ' _But what am I supposed to even talk about?_ '

" _ **H** **ow about why he decided to take you to his village?**_ " Isobu suggested as I took another sip from my mug. " _ **You have been wondering why for a while now.**_ "

' _I guess it couldn't hurt_.' Steeling myself, I looked over to Shisui and softly asked. "Why?"

"Why what?" Shisui inquired never taking his eyes off the fire but I can see that he was slightly surprised that I was the one to start a conversation for once. Throughout the week that we have been together it has always been Shisui who started our conversations, or lack thereof, due to me not talking to him at all.

' _No turning back now._ ' I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and clarified. "Why did you decide to take me with you?"

He didn't say anything at first, but after a moment of silence, he responded. "Because it wouldn't have felt right to just leave a child like you there." I opened my mouth to protest that I wasn't a child but closed it a few seconds later when I just remembered that I was one physically. "You had no one to take care of you and there's no telling what dangers lurked outside the walls of that village."

"But that doesn't mean you had to take me with you." I pointed out turning my eyes back to the fire and reaching a hand into the pocket of my shorts to caress the scroll that holds my parents' headbands and the scrolls from the Kurosawa clan's village. "I'm just a kid and would probably be a burden to you."

"You haven't been a burden." I looked back to Shisui in surprise as he threw another stick in the fire to keep it burning before looking to me. "During this past week, whenever we stop for the night, I know you have been using your chakra to light the campfire and getting us water when my back was turned."

" _ **So he did notice.**_ " Isobu muttered while I felt my body go stiff when I heard that Shisui knew it was me that did all that the past week. Sure, it was pretty obvious since we were the only ones in the vicinity who could have done it, but that's beside the point! The fact of the matter is he knew I was using chakra to do all that stuff!

' _But, I was so careful to make sure his back was turned when I lit the fire!_ ' I frantically thought as a myriad of scenarios played out in my head what Shisui might do to me now that he knows I can use chakra. ' _And I always stayed hidden and brought something to store the water in!_ '

"I knew the Kurosawa Clan had an affinity for water jutsu." Shisui continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil, looking back to the fire. "But I didn't think you had two chakra natures at such a young age."

' _What do I do?!_ ' The familiar feeling of fear began to grip at my heart again making it hard for me to breathe properly. ' _Should I run after all?! What if he learns about Isobu?! What was I thinking going along with him?!_ ' My breathing started to become shorter with every breath I took and I could hear my heart beating rapidly that it felt like it would explode if it went any faster.

" _ **Kojiro, calm yourself!**_ " I could hear Isobu shout in alarm, but what he was telling me to do was impossible at the moment.

Memories of nearly getting killed and actually dying began to flood my mind and blend together to the point that it was impossible to tell what memory was from which life. My memories continued to overlap with one another this way as my body began to tremble and my heart pounding harder. My hand found itself gripping at my shirt over my chest when I started to feel pain that was so intense that I had to lurch forward and started to sweat profusely.

I gritted my teeth to avoid screaming when another wave of pain coursed through my chest and fought desperately to stay conscious. I could feel Shisui's hand on my back and he was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear a word because the sound of my pounding heart drowned out all other sounds. The pain was horrible, so horrible that it felt like I was dying which scared me and made things worse as the pain in my chest intensified with every beat of my heart and I started to feel numb. The pain was unbearable and I wanted to do something, anything, to make it go away. Through the numbness, I felt something strike the back of my neck and my vision went black.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes and let out a groan before opening my eyes again to see that I was laying on my back looking up at the roof of Shisui's tent. My body feels hot and achy for some reason and I have a horrible headache. I felt something on my forehead and brought my hand up to feel that it was a wet cloth, which confused me because I don't remember feeling sick recently.

"Glad to see you're awake." Surprised by the sudden voice, I bolted to a sitting position sending the cloth that was still on my head flying to see Shisui sitting next to me. "You gave me quite a scare last night."

"Shisui?" I inwardly cringed at how hoarse my voice sounded and placed a hand over my mouth when I started to cough. I was so confused that I didn't fight it when Shisui gently laid me back down before reaching to pick up the wet cloth from the ground. "What happened?"

"You were suffering from a panic attack." Shisui replied, placing the wet cloth on my forehead. "It seemed like you couldn't hear me telling you to take deep breaths and nothing I did helped so I had to knock you out."

"A panic attack?" My eyes widened slightly before I remembered what transpired last night and I was indeed suffering from a panic attack that most likely happened because of my fear of what would happen to me now that Shisui knows I can use two chakra natures.

Accelerated heart rate, shortness of breath, trembling, chest pain, sweating. I knew that these were all symptoms of a panic attack from what was described in my medical books back in my previous life. Just the thought of Shisui knowing I can use chakra apparently was enough to cause a panic attack which worries me a little. If it was that bad, what will happen when we get to the village and everyone learns about Isobu?

"Did you have a panic attack last night because of what I said?" Shisui's question brought me out of my thoughts and I looked to him with a confused look on my face. "You were fine until I brought up that I knew you could use chakra." It was then that I understood why Shisui asked me that question before turning my head away from him and slowly nodded my head. "Why did you try to hide it?"

If I'm being perfectly honest with myself, I didn't know how to answer that question. I know that Shisui is compassionate and doesn't enjoy killing people, but there's always this feeling of fear and doubt that consumes me. I've never felt this way before in my life, that is, before my parents' death and nearly getting killed that I started to suspect everyone who comes near me. There were times I wanted to tell Shisui that I could use chakra, but then the fear and doubt took over making me hide it instead.

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me, I'll wait until you're ready." Shisui removed the cloth from my forehead and placed a hand there as if checking my temperature. "Hmm, looks like it's gone down a little." I looked to Shisui in confusion which he saw and explained. "After I knocked you out, you started to show signs of a fever, so I spent the night caring for you until your temperature went down."

' _That explains the wet cloth on my forehead._ ' I thought as Shisui removed his hand from my forehead and I noticed that Shisui had faint dark circles under his eyes telling me that he really has been caring for me all night which worried me a little. "You didn't get any sleep?"

"I'll be fine." Shisui placed the cloth in what I think was a tub of water then pulled it out and twisting it to get the excess water out before replacing it on my forehead. "Ninja sometimes have to go many days without sleep when on a mission, so it won't be a problem."

' _That's not reassuring in the least._ ' Because of my knowledge from my previous life, I knew that lack of sleep could cause fatigue which will then lead to a number of health problems. ' _And fatigue can also mean that Shisui's fighting capabilities would be greatly affected if we're attacked._ '

" _ **Isn't there something you can do for him?**_ " Isobu asked bringing my thoughts to how I can help Shisui even if it's only a little bit.

' _If only I had some Rhodiola._ ' I bit the inside of my cheek at the thought that I couldn't do anything for Shisui when he's here nursing me back to health. ' _But they only grow in cold, mountainous regions._ '

" _ **Rhodiola?**_ "

' _A plant that's said to help fight fatigue._ ' I explained when I heard the confusion in Isobu's voice. ' _It improves brain function and resistance to stress._ '

" _ **I see.**_ " Isobu said understanding why I wanted some. " _ **That would be helpful.**_ "

' _Yeah._ ' I let out a silent sigh in frustration as I thought over everything I knew about Rhodiola. ' _Problem is we're nowhere near a mountain or sea cliffs right now and it's too warm for Rhodiola to grow._ '

"We'll be staying here a little longer so you can rest." Shisui's voice cut of my conversation with Isobu bringing my attention to him to see that he was moving to leave the tent. "It would be a bad idea to move while you're like this."

"Okay." I nodded in understanding and after he left I let out a sigh that turned into a slight cough as I turned to my side letting the wet cloth to fall to the ground again. "Great, not only am I burdening Shisui by going with him, but now he has to take care of me when I suddenly got sick."

" **It's not your fault, Kojiro.** " Isobu said reassuringly as he brought me into my mindscape. " **The fault lies with me.** " I was surprised to hear this and quickly sat up to look him in the eye. " **The reason for your sudden fever is because your body is still adjusting to having my chakra flowing through it.** "

"That doesn't make any sense." I got to my feet causing ripples on the surface of the pitch black water beneath me. "I've had you inside me for over a week now, so why did I get sick now instead of when I first used your chakra, Isobu?"

" **That was because you were using small amounts of my chakra that time.** " Isobu explained using a tail to lift me up so I wasn't straining my neck to look him in the eye. " **By using small amounts of my chakra, your body was slowly adjusting to it. However, because of your panic attack last night, you unknowingly drew upon more of my chakra than your body could handle which resulted in your fever.** "

"I used your chakra?" My eyes widened in shock at what Isobu told me and I tried to remember what happened last night while I was having my panic attack. When nothing came up, I looked to Isobu who nodded in confirmation. "Did Shisui see it?"

" **Fortunately, no.** " Isobu replied and I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. " **The only way he would have noticed was if he looked at your eyes that changed to mine, but your head was lowered and your hair hid your eyes.** "

"That's good." I placed a hand over my chest when it felt like a great weight was lifted from it. "I don't know how I'm going to explain that if Shisui saw that."

" **You could always say that it was your clan's kekkei genkai.** " Isobu suggested reminding me that I was a part of a clan. " **It would make sense when you remember what you read about your clan and our imprisoned guest.** "

A chill went down my spine when I remembered my scaly lookalike that Isobu trapped in a coral jail. I looked down to the pitch black water where I knew where the said jail was and fought the urge to hide behind Isobu. Just the thought of that thing breaking free and taking over my body was enough to give me nightmares for days.

" **Don't worry** _ **.**_ " I looked back to Isobu as he used another tail to pat me on the head. " **I'll make sure that thing won't escape and hurt you, my friend.** "

A smile formed on my face that Isobu called me his friend and that he would protect me. I placed my hands on the tail patting my head and lowered it so I could place my forehead on it before closing my eyes. "And I'll make sure no one uses you as a weapon, friend."

" _ **You should head back now.**_ " Isobu said as he lowered me back to stand on the surface of the black water with his tails swaying behind him. " _ **Shisui has been trying to wake you up for the past few minutes.**_ " I nodded and closed my eyes as I concentrated in leaving my mindscape. When I opened my eyes, I saw Shisui hovering over my with a hand on my shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" Shisui asked removing his hand from my shoulder and placed it on my forehead. "Hmm, it's still a little high, but not as bad as before." He removed his hand and gave me an inquisitive look. "Do you think you're up to moving yet?"

"I think so." I nodded my head pushing myself into a seating position since I actually did feel a lot better. My body didn't feel as hot or achy as before and my headache was nothing more than a dull throb now. "I can probably handle travel for a little while longer."

"That's good." Shisui nodded holding up the flap of the tent to let me out first before following. He sealed the tent into a scroll before pocketing it and turned to face me. "We're close to the village, so I'm going to move a bit faster than before, can you handle that?"

I just nodded in response as Shisui turned his back to me and knelt down so I could climb on before we were off again. Shisui wasn't kidding when he said he was going faster, he was going so fast, I had to tighten my hold on his shoulders so I wouldn't fall off and everything seem to blur past us. I didn't know how long it was going to take us to reach our destination at the speed Shisui was going, so to pass the time, I decided to meditate to try out my theory from last night. I closed my eyes and took deep, even, breathes as I remembered what Ryuji told me.

' _Picture my chakra as a blue flame._ ' It was a lot easier than when I did it the first time as I pictured a blue flame in a matter of seconds in my mind. I then split the flame into three smaller red, blue, and brown flames and I noticed that each flame had a unique characteristic. The red flame felt hot and flickered wildly while the blue flame felt cool and relaxing and the brown flame felt dry and sturdy. I decided to file that revelation away for later before willing the red and blue flames together again. At first there was some resistance, but eventually the two flames became one and formed a flame that had a lighter shade of red. This new flame flame still felt hot, but not burning, and it gave off a little steam as it burned.

" _ **I believe you just formed the Vapor style kekkei genkai, Kojiro.**_ " Isobu said as he observed what I was doing with my chakra. " _ **Trying combining your fire and earth natures next.**_ " I knew right away what Isobu was suggesting and split the vapor chakra back into fire and water before willing the earth chakra with the fire chakra. There wasn't as much resistance as with the water chakra and when they came together the flame was red with a brown hue to it. " _ **Now you have formed the Lava style kekkei genkai. It would appear you have three if you include the one you inherited from your clan.**_ "

' _That's cool and all._ ' I thought as I released the image of the flames but kept my eyes closed. ' _But it seems a bit overkill to have three kekkei genkai._ '

" _ **Chakra natures and kekkei genkai**_ _ **are not things you can choose to have.**_ " Isobu said with a wise tone in his voice which surprised me. " _ **They are what you are born with.**_ "

' _I know that._ ' I sighed as I processed that I had now one, not two, but three kekkei genkai. ' _I was just thinking that two would be a lot easier to handle than three._ '

" _ **I suggest working on one kekkei genkai at a time, Kojiro.**_ " Isobu said after my brain finally processed the fact I have three kekkei genkai.

' _Yeah, but which one?_ ' I thought over which kekkei genkai to to train on first, but my thoughts were interrupted when Shisui suddenly stopped and I opened my eyes to see why. In front of us was a huge gate with the leaf symbol on top with the double doors wide open for me to see four heads carved on the face of a mountain on the opposite side of where we are. ' _Oh, that's why he stopped._ '

"We're here." Shisui said as he knelt down to let me off before standing straight. "Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

* * *

 **Now unto your reviews!**

 **Oblivious IJ: Sorry it took so long, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. Peace!**

 **GGPD: Yup, finally. Looking forward to it too, not sure when I'll do that though.**

 **True Hyper Sonic: Yup, Shisui found him. So lucky it's ridiculous. Glad you caught on to that, if it were anyone other than Kojiro I would feel sorry for Isobu. Yeah, must suck for Kojiro to learn about his kekkei genkai. He might have a kekkei tota, he might not, who knows? Good observation in the boil and lava releases though.**

 **Blueowl: Same here, would not have been pretty if it were an enemy. So true, which is exactly why I wrote the previous chapter like that. Sadly, that's not happening this chapter.**

 **SilverDragon1218: It's alright, that tends to happen from time to time. i'm glad Shisui found him too. Lol, nice, I should do the dramatic voice thing at the end of each chapter from now on. And a good day to you as well.**

 **Luckyshot8: Indeed, another curse of being the container of a tailed beast, your chakra control is going to suck when you start training it.**

 **CriticalFanatic: Interesting choices, I'll keep them both under consideration when it's time for me to decide to pair Kojiro up with someone.**

 **guest reader: That will be my little secret until the time is right. If you want to know, then I suggest you keep reading to know the answer.**

 **thepowerfulkira: It's fine, I make mistakes too.**

 **sarahgri99: Yes, Shisui! I hope the wait was worth it!**

 **Before I forget, I just wanted to announce that from the next chapter onward, it will be in 3rd P.O.V. as it will start to get harder to write future fight scenes. Just thought I'd give you all fair warning for you bombard the reviews with questions about the change in P.O.V.**

 **With that being said, until we meet again!**


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